> > Giving people a free pass for not paying attention to their own finances is exactly how you end up with people that are even worse at managing their finances than before.
[citation needed]... because I'm pretty sure you just made that up, and it's not true at all.
I am not sure what to think about this topic in a whole, but that argument isn’t much different than why we teach responsibility for kids. There might be some truth in it.
> I am not sure what to think about this topic in a whole, but that argument isn’t much different than why we teach responsibility for kids. There might be some truth in it.
Teaching as a whole actions (or inaction) has consequences, is different from trying to interact fairly with the world. In the above case, the punishment is so far divorced from the mistake (forgetting to cancel a subscription), that cost has nearly no chance to actually correct the behavior.
But, even if you think that anxiety and paranoia is a healthy way to go about things... This *still* wouldn't teach the correct behavior. Punishing people for mistakes does not teach them how to manage finances correctly, it teaches them fear about recurring subscriptions.
> But, even if you think that anxiety and paranoia is a healthy way to go about things... This still wouldn't teach the correct behavior. Punishing people for mistakes does not teach them how to manage finances correctly, it teaches them fear about recurring subscriptions.
Unfortunately, consequences often are the only guiding factor. I am assuming that we are talking about normal system here where the user has full control to cancel the financial occurrence. We are not talking about some abusive system that is pretending or denying the cancellation. In that case, it is not different that paying your rent.
If people feel anxiety and paranoia for that, that is not normal and they should do something about it. Like having a confidence that they are in control of their own life. It is a basic life skill.
About the power of consequences - that dictates the world. Almost always it is impossible to provide better carrot than the ill actions are producing.
Look no further than the U.S. politics. If there are no consequences for ill actions, those actions will continue as long as it is possible.
Russia will annex new land until it faces the hard stop.
Companies will push boundaries of the law and ethics until there is a financial consequence.
People will trash the park until the fine is large enough and someone is patrolling in the park.
People will drive beyond speed-limit until the fine is correlating their income level. Otherwise only rich people can break the speed-limit.
> Russia will do [bad thing], unless they're stopped
> Companies will do [bad thing], unless they're stopped
> People at the park will do [bad thing], unless they're stopped
> People in cars will do [bad thing], unless they're stopped
I don't disagree with any of these. We as a society, should punish bad behavior! (Note that the as a society is a critical component of my agreement here)
Is forgetting to cancel a recurring subscription a bad thing, that should be punished? Does it hurt society, or exclusively that individual?
I am not sure what to think about this topic in a whole, but that argument isn’t much different than why we teach responsibility for kids. There might be some truth in it.