India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive • Hacker News Board

Re: India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive

#31

Post by r00fus » Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 3:31 PM UTC

throwawayHN123 wrote: post #3

arahant wrote: post #2

Not quite sure how this will end poverty. If anything, it will bring 15M people into the banks' debt and interest clasp.

This is for poor and labor class people. Currently these people earn hand to mouth and spend daily as per their need. Husbands spend on drinking and there is no money left for medicines or child care. If they get bank accounts 1)They will start saving. 2)They will understand the benefits of saving and be the owners of their own money. 3)Any govt schemes or benefits will directly reach them which currently is going in…

Exactly - this is devolution [1], in a money==power kind of argument. By giving money with no questions asked to an individual on an account with very few restrictions and fees (these banks are publicly run, not private), and increasing the ability for the poor to pay each other, you have devolved power to them and away from corrupt middle-men.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devolution

Re: India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive

#32

Post by mqzaidi » Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 5:24 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #29

frozenport wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is modernity. For example, 1/3 of Americans are in debt (and have negative money) but I would call them wealthier and better off then the poor in India who have a few rupees in their wallets.

They are, but it's not because they have bank accounts.

lets give them credit cards.

Re: India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive

#33

Post by pessimizer » Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 5:32 PM UTC

mqzaidi wrote: post #32

pessimizer wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are, but it's not because they have bank accounts.

lets give them credit cards.

Poor people in the US don't have credit cards. They don't even generally have bank accounts, but enough of them do that I ignored that fact for the sake of discussion.

Re: India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive

#34

Post by lutusp » Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 5:40 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #33

mqzaidi wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lets give them credit cards.

Poor people in the US don't have credit cards. They don't even generally have bank accounts, but enough of them do that I ignored that fact for the sake of discussion.

> Poor people in the US don't have credit cards.

No, this is wrong. The real tragedy is that poor people do have credit cards. The credit card system overwhelmingly favors those at the top -- people who automatically pay off their balances each month and enjoy 30-day interest free loans the rest of the time, versus people at the bottom who have a perpetual negative balance on their cards and who pay exorbitant interest rates that would be illegal in a civilized country.

Re: India Opens 15M Bank Accounts in Modi’s Inclusion Drive

#35

Post by praneshp » Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 6:09 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #33

mqzaidi wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lets give them credit cards.

Poor people in the US don't have credit cards. They don't even generally have bank accounts, but enough of them do that I ignored that fact for the sake of discussion.

Are you sure about this? I agree homeless people don't have credit cards, but I see the poorest people still have (multiple) credit cards. Maybe I'm not looking at the right places in the US?