Bloomberg’s article, I’m Renting a Dog? explains how you can buy a dog at a pet store, and then find out that you’re on the hook for a whole lot more money than you’d dreamed, because you’ve actually agreed to lease a dog. What an insane world! This is why it’s important to read every contract you sign, kids. Sigh.
Please tell me it’s not true that you can rent a dog.
My first reaction to this was astonishment (my second was anger) but on reflection I thought:This is morally indistinguishable from a mortgage or, in fact, most interactions with a bank. You borrow a certain amount but you must pay back many times that amount. It is what non-respectable loan sharks call “vig”. Banks are, in their essence, contemptible.