> If I'm unhappy with the scummy behaviour of a credit rating agency, my only recourse is to... Opt out of credit entirely
Well you have more options than that. You can freeze your credit reports, put holds on your information, and push your political representatives to engage with the issue. No, you can't single-handedly fix the problem, but it is a correctable problem.
> If I'm unhappy with the scummy behaviour of my bank, I could switch to a competitor, which has the exact same policies
You can also switch to a credit union which probably has very different policies, or use one of the very many online centric banks which have since popped up and are very customer focused.
> I could move to a different city, and the players in this game will change, but the rules, and the outcomes, will remain the same.
At least anecdotally, moving from the DC area to Texas changed my life significantly for the better. It moved my friend group for people who were stuck to people who were pushing to accomplish things. It opened up a job market for me personally from a few firms to almost infinite choices. It reduced the cost of buying a house and made it so I could have that as an option.
> by powers and circumstances you have absolutely no control over - and by your current personal level of wealth and status
You have a lot of control over your money. You can choose to spend it or not spend it, and you can choose how you spend it. You can give up your free time and make more of it, and you can use that free time to make more of it faster.
On your point about not being able to tell an unreasonable boss to back off without having money - that's simply not true. I've left a job while basically broke because I felt continuing to work with my employer was unethical. I picked up a lot of odd and un-fun jobs to make it work and it wasn't easy, but I had the choice and I exercised it.
Having a choice doesn't mean the choice is easy. It doesn't mean you get to keep your nice car or convenient apartment. Often times choices have consequences and that's OK - that doesn't mean it's not a choice.
Well you have more options than that. You can freeze your credit reports, put holds on your information, and push your political representatives to engage with the issue. No, you can't single-handedly fix the problem, but it is a correctable problem.
> If I'm unhappy with the scummy behaviour of my bank, I could switch to a competitor, which has the exact same policies
You can also switch to a credit union which probably has very different policies, or use one of the very many online centric banks which have since popped up and are very customer focused.
> I could move to a different city, and the players in this game will change, but the rules, and the outcomes, will remain the same.
At least anecdotally, moving from the DC area to Texas changed my life significantly for the better. It moved my friend group for people who were stuck to people who were pushing to accomplish things. It opened up a job market for me personally from a few firms to almost infinite choices. It reduced the cost of buying a house and made it so I could have that as an option.
> by powers and circumstances you have absolutely no control over - and by your current personal level of wealth and status
You have a lot of control over your money. You can choose to spend it or not spend it, and you can choose how you spend it. You can give up your free time and make more of it, and you can use that free time to make more of it faster.
On your point about not being able to tell an unreasonable boss to back off without having money - that's simply not true. I've left a job while basically broke because I felt continuing to work with my employer was unethical. I picked up a lot of odd and un-fun jobs to make it work and it wasn't easy, but I had the choice and I exercised it.
Having a choice doesn't mean the choice is easy. It doesn't mean you get to keep your nice car or convenient apartment. Often times choices have consequences and that's OK - that doesn't mean it's not a choice.