We used to have laws against usury, the banks eventually got rid of them by bribing legislatures. Insterest used to be capped at 6%, if you charged a penny more you got jail time and a fine...in Texas! Usury was once punishable by death. Americans can't imagine a world without usurers its the water we swim in. Dante described it as "an extraordinarily efficient form of violence by which one can do the most damage with the least effort."