As I have written in the past I have a huge backlog of unfinished ideas, and thanks to a vile chest infection, I am dipping into this odd array of unfinished ideas. This one I think crosses a few lines (i.e. in poor taste), but it does have a point to it.
I was trying to think of how banks might slow down the tsunami of debt that seems to be accumulating with all of these cheap interest rates, that we currently have in Canada, and I have come up with a brilliant† idea, that will never (ever) be implemented (because banks make money if you are in debt, so this fantastic idea is counter to their profit line).
† – Where brilliant could be translated to sarcastic as well
Nifty Looking Ink Eh
The important technological step that is needed is erasable tattoos, which are being developed (well the inks are) as we speak.
Here is the idea, you go into your local banker, and you want to borrow a large sum of money, and your banker offers you the following
Get the word Debtor tattooed on the back of each hand, and you can have the loan for a 25% discount on the current lending rates. When the debt is repaid, the tattoos are removed. However, if you show up with one of these tattoos, you are automatically refused.
There would have to be subclauses about if you tried to alter the tattoo, or hide it in some fashion you’d have to pay a penalty but wouldn’t this be a great idea?
Too harsh? All it really would do is drive folks to alternate lenders, I doubt it would slow many folks down.
What about if they get the loan for a discount in exchange for signing a contract they will go to an old school debtor’s prison if they default? I’m sure the spectre of prison back in the day was much scarier than signing the forms to declare personal bankruptcy. People would surely think twice before taking a loan.