Yes, the amounts involved are often quite small, but it's still money that the depositor doesn't have, and it still amounts to a loan. I would have a bit more tolerance on this point if I hadn't read that Americans are more likely to live paycheck to paycheck if their household income is $100,000 per year than if it is $50,000 per year and if I hadn't also read that a signifcant number of mortgage defaulters are the affluent who can afford the loans they chose to take out, but who make a calculated decision to buy an equivalent home for less and walk away from the original mortgage, leaving the rest of us who take responsibility for our choices with the bill. Wasn't the Republican mantra personal responsibility, and isn't that what the affluent bought into? Why should it only apply to others?
Your friend could balance her checking account and avoid those $35 fees, but she will probably be happy to know that banks are trending toward forcing customers to opt into having shadow lines extended to them; less happy to know that her bank's software probably doesn't support her being able to do that today so it's, at best, several months out. She can, however, take charge herself and track her spending in the meantime to avoid this happening until then, or she can consider the $35 fee her payment to the bank for floating her the small loan and for keeping track of her ledgers for her. The point is that this is an entirely voluntary fee, and the $35 fee is as much the result of her choices as it is the result of the bank's policy decisions.
If the current crisis were simply the result of predatory practices, it would fall disproportionately on the poor and powerless, and most would not be at all fussed about it. It's not. It has been a long time coming, and it evolved primarily because of the demands of the affluent, who now seem to think they ought to be insulated from their bad choices. Your friend ought to be grateful that she can afford the overdraft fees and take action to ensure that she doesn't have to. Most are not so fortunate.
