Impact of Usury

Mark Thoma gives Us a Picture of Traditional views of Usury(spent some time pursuing the links). Usury law exists in the United States only at the State level, while Federal law restricts the application of State Usury laws across a wide spectrum of Lending. This complicates both Understanding and Practice beyond belief, and functionally, Usury law is most noted for Violations of both the Intent and Penalty provisions of the law because of lack of enforcement power. It devolves into the general Trend that Usury law can only be enforced by State agency, and this effort is generally defeated by the generosity of Lenders in provision of Political campaign contributions. There is generally a total lack of Interest in enforcement of Usury laws, until Political campaign season, and then Most generally does not reach Public Notice.

Throughout human economic concourse, there has been multiple attempts to define Usury based upon some ideological rule; Usury disliked because it is perceived as robbing the Borrower of some degree of Profit from their labor, a sort of Armed Robbery by Contract pen. Usury does exist, do not get me Wrong, because it is a form of Indentured Servitude. Interest, though, serves the very real functional economic purpose of proper diversion of Resources to maximize Production, and cannot be eradicated without a loss of fundamental economic knowledge and supervision of economic enterprise. This function becomes ever more vital as the complexity of economic integration grows. Money stands a the denomination of value within an Economy, and Interest clarifies the correct distribution of those Funds (defines where Money should go, and in what amounts, through establishment of the Value of alternate Use). A complex economy cannot exist without Money, and a sophisticated economy cannot exist without Interest.

Usury is not technically Money or Interest. It is a diminishment of the Profits of labor of the Borrower, by venue of excess Charges placed on Loans by the Lender; an effective instrument to lower the Wage of the Borrower to the advantage of the Lender. It is exactly here that We enter into the realm of Involuntary Servitude. Current American law defines Variations of the exact position where Usury applies, because of the nature of the loan extended. This is a basic avoidance of the definition of the magnitude of Usury, for the express purpose of evasion of the edict of Usury law; rather than any intrinsic Variation of Value. It can be said that the basic practice of Lending leaves Borrowers legally incoherent, while Lenders maintain the economic advantage of unity and legal representation. Usury does exist, but legal enforcement against usurious practice must face a lack of legal representation and designed lack of interest in enforcement procedures by standard law enforcement agents. lgl