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Cleaning ladies revile easy credit and their spendthrift daughters
By Wan Lixin |
February 18, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
MY attention was drawn by a loud, excited exchange between two women early Monday, just outside the office toilet.
They were two middle-aged cleaners, spewing out a torrent of tirades against their spendthrift daughters, who are both credit-card holders.
Their daughters' extravagances are eating into their hard-earned pittance.
One of the daughters is a low-level hospital clerk who files medical records. She shelled out about 3,000 yuan (US$440) at CITIC Square on a handbag, which is more than her monthly wages.
When the bank demanded payment, she simply left her card at home and phoned her mother to fix it.
When the mother was unwilling, her daughter accused her of being "miserly," and held forth on the importance of owning such a bag.
After the bitter outburst, one of the women blamed credit card issuers for being irresponsible in targeting low-income people.
If you are a Metro commuter, you are probably accustomed to the credit card marketing stands at the entrance to Metro stations.
The marketers thrust fliers and other promotional materials into your hand.
If you are as knowledgeable as I, you simply ignore them, or just chuck the material right into the trash.
But last October at one Metro station in Pudong, one frenzied mother stormed into one stand and overturned it.
The poor woman's son had signed up for a credit card and then the bank pressed her to pay an overdraft of 60,000 yuan.
The woman threatened that she would topple any credit card marketing stand within her sight in the future.
I guess flashing credit cards can make some people feel like big shots. It is said that an average American consumer walks around with six cards.
I still remember vividly some years ago when a Chinese returnee from the US showed off his wallet to me - it was full of plastic.
Eying the huge potential, rival companies are trying to hook as many people as possible, without a due-diligence check on their credit-worthiness.
To get a card, all a customer needs is an ID card and a mug shot. Key information such as salary can be dispensed with.
Ethics
There is little doubt that by unscrupulously targeting some segments of the population, credit companies are putting their financial stability, and household harmony, in jeopardy.
Take the aforementioned cleaners and their spendthrift daughters.
Notwithstanding their modest income, with good management and frugality, they could get by and were no strangers to domestic peace and contentment in the past - until the younger generation fell prey to the credit card companies.
A whole generation is initiated into the cool and charming experience of plastic consumption.
Yes, the young people themselves are probably financially insignificant - but can't they always fall back on their parents?
Some quite modest wage earners can sport LV bags and drive expensive cars, financed by the generosity (often forced) of their parents.
It's all a game about image and keeping up with your colleagues, classmates, and neighbors. But there are no winners in the race.
A well-known high-end handbag now has acquired the prestige of being a jiebao (street bag), because every woman on the street is holding one.
When the handbag is no longer an adequate emblem of success, a paradigm shift will occur when the young people turn to cars - new entrants into labor force are becoming the biggest buyers of cars, clogging Shanghai's narrow lanes.
They fear they would be left behind if they fail to keep up with the latest fashion.
They were two middle-aged cleaners, spewing out a torrent of tirades against their spendthrift daughters, who are both credit-card holders.
Their daughters' extravagances are eating into their hard-earned pittance.
One of the daughters is a low-level hospital clerk who files medical records. She shelled out about 3,000 yuan (US$440) at CITIC Square on a handbag, which is more than her monthly wages.
When the bank demanded payment, she simply left her card at home and phoned her mother to fix it.
When the mother was unwilling, her daughter accused her of being "miserly," and held forth on the importance of owning such a bag.
After the bitter outburst, one of the women blamed credit card issuers for being irresponsible in targeting low-income people.
If you are a Metro commuter, you are probably accustomed to the credit card marketing stands at the entrance to Metro stations.
The marketers thrust fliers and other promotional materials into your hand.
If you are as knowledgeable as I, you simply ignore them, or just chuck the material right into the trash.
But last October at one Metro station in Pudong, one frenzied mother stormed into one stand and overturned it.
The poor woman's son had signed up for a credit card and then the bank pressed her to pay an overdraft of 60,000 yuan.
The woman threatened that she would topple any credit card marketing stand within her sight in the future.
I guess flashing credit cards can make some people feel like big shots. It is said that an average American consumer walks around with six cards.
I still remember vividly some years ago when a Chinese returnee from the US showed off his wallet to me - it was full of plastic.
Eying the huge potential, rival companies are trying to hook as many people as possible, without a due-diligence check on their credit-worthiness.
To get a card, all a customer needs is an ID card and a mug shot. Key information such as salary can be dispensed with.
Ethics
There is little doubt that by unscrupulously targeting some segments of the population, credit companies are putting their financial stability, and household harmony, in jeopardy.
Take the aforementioned cleaners and their spendthrift daughters.
Notwithstanding their modest income, with good management and frugality, they could get by and were no strangers to domestic peace and contentment in the past - until the younger generation fell prey to the credit card companies.
A whole generation is initiated into the cool and charming experience of plastic consumption.
Yes, the young people themselves are probably financially insignificant - but can't they always fall back on their parents?
Some quite modest wage earners can sport LV bags and drive expensive cars, financed by the generosity (often forced) of their parents.
It's all a game about image and keeping up with your colleagues, classmates, and neighbors. But there are no winners in the race.
A well-known high-end handbag now has acquired the prestige of being a jiebao (street bag), because every woman on the street is holding one.
When the handbag is no longer an adequate emblem of success, a paradigm shift will occur when the young people turn to cars - new entrants into labor force are becoming the biggest buyers of cars, clogging Shanghai's narrow lanes.
They fear they would be left behind if they fail to keep up with the latest fashion.
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