Remember those old H&R Block Commercials for what were deceptively referred to as "Rapid Refunds?" You know, where the tax preparer would give you a loan based on your expected tax return and you'd walk out of the office convinced that you'd made a good deal because you "got your money early? Because you're an idiot who didn't realize that you'd just handed over part of your refund to the tax preparer along with his fee?
Notice all those places offering Payday Loans? You know, where poor people go to borrow money at outrageous interest rates in order to tide them over until payday, pretty much assuring that they'll stay in debt permanently? It's basically my Exhibit A for every "it's expensive to be poor" lecture I give.
Well, it's the 21st century so now we've got Earnin, an app that seems to allow you to access your money as you earn it but which actually just fronts you money in exchange for a small fee tip. Because budgeting and living within your means and not spending money as it comes in is such a Boomer thing to do.
What you're not supposed to notice is that you are paying for the "convenience" of having money ahead of payday. This is absolutely NO different from Rapid Refunds or Payday Loans. It's just wrapped in an attractive package promising "freedom" and conning you into thinking you're just getting YOUR money as YOU earn it. It's the opposite of Responsible and the epitome of Stupid. Which is why it's so popular in this Very Stupid Country.
By the way, I don't think that these "services" are "preying" on anybody. Using them is a choice, and I'm not paternalistic enough to think that people should be shielded from making stupid choices. I don't want anyone telling me what to do with my money, so I have no desire to tell people what to do with theirs. I just don't want to hear the inevitable whining when this all comes crashing down. Made, Bed, Lie and all that. I mean, I AM a Boomer, after all.
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