By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026In other words: because poor people have a higher likelihood of defaulting, their loans come with higher interest rates and worse terms. Debt is steeply regressive: the less money you have, the more you're expected to pay. 3/ 1568
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026The industry term for this is the "risk premium": the riskier a loan is, the more it costs the borrower. Lenders are always seeking the highest possible return on their loan-books, which makes that "risk premium" awfully tempting. 4/ 1351
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/07/2026Why loan $1m to Elon Musk at 0.5% interest when you can make 10,000 $100 payday loans to non-union Tesla workers on food stamps at 1,000% interest? Obviously, the fly in the ointment here is the *risK* in "risk premium." 5/ 1424
