The Guest Column
	BRING ON THE CYBER BEGGARS - A Rebuttal by Metten    What happens when you don't pay your credit card bill?  Fortunately for this article, the author (me) has first hand experience.  First, they do nothing.  They don't suspend your account, they don't call, and they don't send intimidatingly worded letters.  They let you get as far in the hole as the actuarial studies say you can get and still make a monthly payment.  Then it begins...    They suspend your account, jack up your late balance interest rates to the point of usury law violation, and start calling you hourly.  For the purpose of this argument, I am not going to address procedures past this point.  I realize, all too well, what they do after they exhaust the methods explained above.    Why do they do this?  At this point, you are income above and beyond expected revenue.  They have already figured out (to the best of their ability)  how many people are not going to pay and they have taken steps to ensure their financial stability despite these people..    In order for businesses to maintain the privilege of accepting credit cards, they are required to pay the credit card company a percentage of each sale (last I knew it was about 4%).  This money is applied toward the balance abandoned by delinquent account holders.  How do you think business owners account for this extra expense in their budgets?  That's right kids, they raise their prices across the board 5% (gotta pay for the card-swiping machine too ya know).  The cost to the credit card company is passed directly to you, the consumer.  Ha ha!  Oh yeah, you also get higher interest rates on your regular credit card balance so they can pay for the guys and gals calling the people that don't pay their bills.  This deal just gets sweeter every minute, doesn't it?    I think you guys have probably figured out where I'm going with this by now, but for the slow kids, I'll keep on rocking'.   The only real solution to Karyn's problem (yes, the woman referred to in Mr. Granger's mixed bag article was named Karyn.  Calm down John, she already has her money, the damage is done) is hunkering down and working as hard as she could to pay off the debt that she was too stupid to manage in the first place. But Karyn is an American and does not deserve to be forced to solve the problem she caused, nor should she incur any penalty for causing unnecessary expenses to the rest of the normal bill-paying consumers.    So what else can you do?  Start a web site and take advantage of stupid people.  I love it!!  It is perfect!!  I work hard, I pay my bills, why should I have to pay more money and work harder because someone else decides to run out on MasterCard, Inc?  Let the stupid people pay for it!    I hereby propose the country adopt this as the policy solution to all problems facing our great nation.   "Let the stupid people pay for it!!"  Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, make up signs, "Let the stupid people pay for it!!"    From now on, a ticket to a NASCAR event is $3,500.  Pro-wrestling?  $5,000.  Professional Bull Riding?  $632,000.  The new Limp Bizkit album?  $400.  A Monday Night Football Broadcast with Dennis Miller alone would raise $6,000,000 to apply toward the national debt.  Yell it from the rafters, "The stupid tax is here to save the day!!"  Start all the beggar websites you want.  I won't go to them, and I sure as shit am not going to give you a penny.  But I hope the stupid people save you, because I am tired of paying for your irresponsibility.
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