Bernie: "The Bible has a term for this practice. It's called usury."

[sonofspy777]

" And in The Divine Comedy, Dante reserved a special place in the Seventh Circle of Hell for sinners who charged people usurious interest rates. Today, we don't need the hellfire and the pitchforks, we don't need the rivers of boiling blood, but we do need a national usury law."

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. That was my favorite part of his speech.

As soon as "Dante" was out of his mouth, the crowd roared with laughter and made Bernie laugh too. Everyone knew what was coming. It was great!

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[Luminous Animal]

2. I was happy to see so many people know Dante and where he was going with it.

[Fawke Em]

22. Mine, too!!!

Loved that part and the part where the audience finished his sentence about Wall Street controlling Congress.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. We might need the hellfire and pitchforks though

for the present congress.

[Uncle Joe]

5. That was definitely a hellfire and brimstone speech that Bernie communicated

to the Wall Street Banks.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. Yes it was!

[demwing]

20. I think Bernie is our best chance for avoiding a violent revolution

Now is our chance to create real and peaceful change, before change knocks down the door in the middle of the night, pitchforks and torches in hand.

Greed and excess can only stand in the face of hunger and abject poverty for so long, before the imbalance rectifies itself through whatever means are available.

Don't think it won't come, and when it does, don't presume it won't come for you and me.

[redwitch]

23. My thoughts exactly!

Thanks for stating what I have been thinking.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, sonofspy.

[Paka]

6. K&R

That was a great point. The whole speech was so good it's hard to single out any one moment.

[WillyT]

8. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[BeanMusical]

9. Kick and R

[JDPriestly]

10. K&R. Loved that part.

[Hiraeth]

11. AMEN !!

[postatomic]

12. I know the traditional definition, but I had to look up the biblical definition

The word usury has come in modern English to mean excessive interest upon money loaned, either formally illegal or at least oppressive. In the Scriptures, however the word did not bear this sense, but meant simply interest of any kind upon money. The Jews were forbidden by the law of Moses to take interest from their brethren, but were permitted to take it from foreigners. The prohibition grew out of the agricultural status of the people, in which ordinary business loans were not needed. and loans as were required should be made only as to friends and brothers in need.

[bvf]

24. I guess Deuteronomy is still a thing. n/t

[GoneFishin]

13. What's equally disgusting is the spread between what they pay to borrow from the Fed (0%

basically) and what they charge for credit card interest. Not surprising though since the Fed is controlled by the banks.

[Vattel]

14. Banks should be ashamed at the way they use every means possible to trap people

into high interest rates. I had to pay 30% to Chase for years on a big chunk of debt due to one payment where I accidently misread the minimum due and so paid a little less than the minimum. When I noticed my mistake a week or so later, I corrected it, but it was too late. At the time my credit rating wasn't good enough to transfer the balance and Chase was happy to make me pay 30% for multiple years. I would call periodically to point out my generally stellar payment history, but the bastards were just too greedy.

[Mnemosyne]

17. Shitibank was the same, 28%. I won't pay their blackmail again. Greedy criminal jerks. nt

[rhett o rick]

21. People must realize it's not personal, it's just good business. We live in a culture that

rewards the accumulation of wealth. The number one goal of businesses is to gain wealth. To beat their competitors they will push regulations to the limit of pay politicians to change the regulations. Bill Clinton bowed before the powerful banks when he signed away Glass-Steigall. HRC would not reinstate it do to pressures from BANKS.

I got distracted. We can't expect businesses to have morals, we must regulate, regulate, regulate, and obviously the Clintons are the people to count on.

[thereismore]

15. Preach it Bernie! Usury is well known to all faiths and heathens alike. nt

[MrMickeysMom]

16. Kick!

[Betty Karlson]

18. K&R for truth. eom

[libdem4life]

19. Ha....now he's going after All The Voters and former voters, and doesn't really care who

he's "stealing" votes from. In fact, that's what I thought democracy was about. Lead and the others will follow...citizens and politicians alike.

[ozone_man]

25. K&R!

It's about time a politician with conviction said this. It's one of the good lessons to take from the Bible.