“We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
How soft your fields so green, can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war. We are your overlords.”
-Led Zeppelin (The Immigrant Song)

The Capital One credit card company uses actors portraying Vikings in its commercials. The Vikings bemoan the evils of high interest credit cards.

The Capital One commercials downplays that Capital One makes its money by getting people hooked on high interest debt.

It is like a methadone dealer criticizing people who sell heroin.

January is a tough time for people with credit cards.  Too many people go crazy during the holidays and come into a new year with heavy debt.

The credit card companies become their overlords.

The credit card companies are out to make a profit.  They found millions of weak and gullible people who will use high interest credit cards instead of paying in cash.  

It is hard to get mad at the companies.  They target a segment of America who are convinced they can’t live without the latest IPOD.  The credit card companies loan them money at a high price.

In the old days, people called high interest lenders “loan sharks”.  Now, the business has gotten more respectable.  The terms of the loans have not changed but the lenders are billion dollar institutions instead of guys on street corners.

Credit card companies don’t hire leg breakers although some of their phone collectors have that kind of potential.  

Like the loan sharks of old, credit card companies target people who want instant gratification.

Several years ago, I read a book called “Christians in the Marketplace” by Bill Hybels, founder of the Willow Street Church in Chicago.

Hybels said that if your work is focused on paying for a car or material possession, the car or possession takes the place of God in your life.

In attracting the masses,  Hybels would have more parishioners if he co-marketed with the credit card people.

Credit card companies have more converts than any other faith. Billy Graham and his crusades do not attract the crowds that Capital One does.

I understand people with poor cash flow getting hooked on credit cards.  Some people use them to buy groceries.  When I started my business, I used credit cards to make the payroll and keep the utilities from being shut off.  When you are in survival mode, you do what you have to do.

Many people sucked into the credit card trap are not poor.  They are hard working people who can’t handle money.

I have a friend who works at a high paying factory.  His wife worked in the same factory and their family income is over $100,000.

They had to file bankruptcy.   They made big money but were suckers for new vehicles and for all kinds of electronic equipment.

Their Gods become Toyota and Best Buy.

I know a lot of people like my friends.  They have a tremendous work ethic but can’t stay ahead of their bills.   

I’m not sure how to break the cycle.  Some people break it when their credit gets cut off but my friends always get credit. After bankruptcy, they got more offers than ever.

I don’t like the credit card companies targeting weak willed people but those people need to take responsibility for bad behaviors.

The idea of buying a slightly used car or waiting a couple of years for a 60 inch, plasma television set is foreign to them.   They want the newest and the best and want it right now.

The credit card companies allow them to do it.  At a heavy price.

If the people would save instead of paying credit card interest,   they would soon have the money to buy what they want.  They could then own it free and clear.

The  Vikings came from the land of ice and snow  and enslaved people with   physical violence.   Credit card companies enslave people with high interest and payment plans.

 Vikings took people by force.  People with credit cards do it voluntarily.

Millions of people surrender to the credit card overlords.

Don McNay is President of McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Kentucky where we want people to have financial freedom.   His column is syndicated on the CNHI News Service. You can write to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or read other things he has written at DonMcNay.com