Pawnshop - Is it morally OK?

**Bry** · January 20th, 2006 09:27 AM

FXT: Matagal na naman kami hindi in good terms ng dad ko. My mom just wants his approval muna before doing anything.

I also have another business in mind, pero sa 2007 pa. ;)

**van_wilder** · January 20th, 2006 12:47 PM

one of the best advice i got...

"we are not running a charitable institution here... we are running a corporate empire..."

**cumbersome** · January 20th, 2006 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Bry

FXT: Matagal na naman kami hindi in good terms ng dad ko. My mom just wants his approval muna before doing anything.

I also have another business in mind, pero sa 2007 pa. ;)

Regardless of any discussion, i wish you well with your business, bro. And i hope it works out between you and your dad.

**theveed** · January 20th, 2006 01:16 PM

Oh, madaming pawnshop sa Hong Kong btw...

**cutedoc** · January 20th, 2006 02:41 PM

here's my stand,by the way i sometimes attend bible study=)

1st separate God from business, only one point of for conscience seeker, if i do this would i think God be okay with it, life is a vicious cycle of morality, whereby morality mustnt be dictated by norm but by God.

say you opened a pawnshop, A went in to pawn, you give A money, as A is so hungry to feed his family, A should also work to retrieve what he had pawn, right? even God would agree with what i intend to convey when i say this, when A didnt work, when A didnt make an effort to retrieve what he pawned, that would be your fault? why because, because you yourself make an effort to finance and open a pawnshop, you yourself needs to eat as well=)

to make it simplier, mukha lang siyang di maganda kasi its like your taking something out of the poor when you know they are poor, right, e bakit pa natin kelangan patungan ang isang produkto like tinapay,kung alam natin na ang bibili e mahirap, say we did give them discount, same thing pinatungan pa din, di naman pede lahat lagi pro bono=)

**flakez** · January 21st, 2006 11:39 PM

mas immoral ang funeral service business kasi naghihitay ka ng mamamatay. hehehehe

**BoEinG_747** · January 21st, 2006 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by fLaKeZ

mas immoral ang funeral service business kasi naghihitay ka ng mamamatay. hehehehe

hahaha..
OT: tutuo ba iyon may mga agent ang funeral parlor na ..nag hihingalo pa lang daw ang pasyente ay may nag aabot na ng calling card?

**Alpha_One** · January 22nd, 2006 12:21 AM

No, it's not immoral. Yes, I'm Christian.

<Economics/Business Lecture>

Q: Is lending with interest bad? Why?

Short A: No. Lending is a business, not a charity. Businesses are neither inherently good nor bad, it's how the business is run that makes it good or bad.

Long A: First of all you should not ask "Is charging interest bad?". Instead you should ask first "Why is interest charged in the first place?"

I'm sure most of you are familiar with business terms such as "cost", "profit/loss", "risk" and "return on investment". Not too many people however, are familiar with a certain particular cost called "opportunity cost".

What is opportunity cost anyway? Opportunity cost is the difference between the return of your investment on something versus investing your money on something else. For example, if you decided to use your money to buy a gift for your girlfriend over buying food to satisfy your hunger. In this case, it cost you your satisfaction to buy your girlfriend satisfaction.

P.S. there is even an opportunity cost in keeping money in your pocket. Putting it in a bank can get you interest, inflation (that is spending it tomorrow when prices go up), etc.

How does this apply to lending? Well, if you lend someone money you automatically lose the opportunity to spend/invest it. Now some of you might say "well yes he'll pay for it" but what if you invested that money in something that'll give a better return? In other words, it cost you something to lend to your friend. Sure, it's still "your" money, but it is of no use to you during the time he isn't paying for it.

There are many other costs in lending too. Ever been in a position where you have to run a bank? The administrative costs are... quite high. Even the simple fact that the 5-6 has to go look for his clients is a cost in itself (in his time and effort). There's also the risk involved. What if the borrower doesn't pay? That's the risk in lending, as is "What if a disease wipes out my entire farm" being the risk in agriculture. Risk is part of any business, and something has to cover those risks some way or another. In a perfect world, there are no risks. But then again, in a perfect world, there'd be no need for lending and borrowing - and everyone would have enough food so as not to need any farms. But this isn't a perfect world.

Charging interest, in a nutshell, is assuming your client will use the money for useful purposes and hopefully make it up with more money. Hell, that's how banks and businesses operate, right?

P.S. depositing at a bank is basically saying "I don't know what to do with my money, maybe you can do something useful with it." The interest that you get is a way of saying "Thank you for letting us use your money, and we present to you a little gift." But that's the subject of another lecture.

</Economics/Business Lecture>

Summary: Lending isn't bad - at least it isn't inherently bad (or good for that matter). It's a business, and businesses aren't good or bad either. Lenders need to cover their costs, think about the risks, just like any old business.