There is a television commercial about a man who is in an accident and rushed into the emergency room for a life-saving treatment, but before the doctors attempt to treat him using the heart machine, they glance at a small screen in the room to see if his credit card clears. When it does, they proceed to save his life.

Though this is only a commercial, it is a reflection of what the future holds. A person's credit rating will at some point, determine your self worth, even to the point of your life or your death. Increasingly, more companies whether in the private sector or government, require people to have an at least decent credit rating before they will serve or assist you.

For example, in some states, an automobile owner has to have good credit before they can purchase auto insurance. If they cannot furnish good credit, then they cannot purchase insurance, which puts them at the risk of losing their right to drive and at the risk of outrageous traffic fines, auto impounding, and license suspension.

Other entities of society also impose stringent credit regulations for services that at one time were automatic, such as renting an apartment, getting utilities turned on, renting a car, even renting movie videos at the local movie rental place.

The need for good credit to rent an apartment will and has hurt many people who do not have good credit. It bars them from certain communities and limits them to apartment communities that are lax on their tenant policies, which are normally in lower-income neighborhoods. This is one way to keep the wealthy separated from the underclass.

To have a bad credit rating says that you are not worthy to have the good things of life and that you are a risk for trusting with or lending money to.

Companies check job applicants credit rating now, to see if they pose a risk. No company wants to hire someone that has outstanding debt and creditors calling the job. If a person's credit shows outstanding debt, the employer can refuse to hire them, though they will not reveal the reason.

Churches are now asking people for their social-security numbers on tithing envelopes. They too, check credit history because poor credit history says the member owes more than they can afford to give to the church's ministry. In relationships, people are asking about the potential spouses credit rating before they comment because they do not want to inherit a bad credit rating.

It is understandable that banks and lending institutions abide by a strict credit policy since they are lending their money, and not many want to lend to someone who will not likely repay them. However, when that same practice is put into effect concerning where and how a person can live, that begins another realm of social class exploitation.

If credit ratings determine whether you can insure your vehicle, a law many readily abide by, then the system is actually working against itself because if more people cannot obtain auto insurance that means that many more will drive around without it, further increasing hazardous situations for other insured drivers. This will eventually come back to haunt auto insurance companies.

The innuendo in the commercial says that the credit industry will soon have control over many lives, literally. They already control many aspects of our lives, such as who can drive, who can live where and how, and who are credible enough to have what it is they want. Now they want to regulate who lives and who dies.

If the guy's credit card had failed, he would have died because the doctors would have had no other choice but not to operate. They would not want to risk their standing in the credit society by taking that kind of risk.

Soon, there will be credit laws imposed on those who can buy food. If you were to walk into a grocery store, say, after society has gone to the cashless system, the grocer swipes your card through the credit machine, and you have outstanding debts, this is grounds for refusal.

Food, shelter, and clothing, are things that should be a given in any society, however, this is what it seems America is attempting to destroy: the givens of human rights, and to preserve these rights only for those who can afford them. The more America prospers and grows financially, the greedier and more cash-conscious it will become.

When the day comes that tragedy strikes this country, and everyone, whether rich or poor, are faced with the same situation, it will be only then they will see that in life, there are some things that all humans deserve.

© 2003 by C.R. Hamilton