I know what you guys are saying- trust me- I know. I am a total stickler for reading every single line of contracts, etc. And I know that the phrase "caveat emptor" buyer beware is what we need to go by.
My POV is this though- when you have a person come in, and say straight to their face- I want to go fixed- I don't really trust this- and they say back to you- trust me, this is the best way to go- then I feel like they are preying on people's ignorance and lack of education in this area. Again I know my fault.
But are we to say that in every financial engagement in life- that we are never to trust anybody- and because we all know that we are capitalists that we have to go through the rest of our lives never trusting any type of financial business and that it is ok for them to conduct business like that?
I think not. I think we need to hold predatory lenders accountable for their actions because there is a line of decency that can be met, and there is a way to conduct business, make a fair profit- and still live by the golden rule.
JC Penny- my first job- the founder used to have a motto. His was- between the wholesale price and the market price there is a price in the middle that will allow for a profit w/o ripping off the consumer. He promised excellent customer service and abhored treating customers badly- because good customer relationships kept a business alive-while cheating customers would only cause one to lose them- and thus lose the customer to another business.
There are examples of businesses that use a "golden rule" philosphy and are market leaders in their areas- ie. Starbucks, Southwest and Whole Foods.
Their premise is that their is an amount of fair profit to be made w/o ripping off the customer, treat employees like gold and they will stay w/ you- give employees partial benefits because they will stay with you- and people will be willing for higher prices if they know there is quality and value in the product.
I believe that one can conduct business faithfully and honestly and still make a profit. To say that we should allow busineses to rip off people because that is their capitalist right is not ethical. And yes, there can be ethics in business.