In many cases, yes.

Having wages more inline with productivity would be much better. The types of loans being discussed here, came into being after we decoupled minimum wage from worker productivity per hour, and started the long decline of real median incomes relative to productivity per capita, but fixing demand side issue like that is so out of vogue.

The airline industry is very big on pushing Brand Loyalty via points, rewards and membership programs. Though not well versed on that specific market, brand loyalty could significantly influence many riders that would have to choose occasionally between Spirit and their airline of choice.

No, then you get to reposess the vehicle, usually much faster and cheaper, and resell it again at 30% intrest, after acessing all sorts of fees to the origional borrower.

Like underwater?

*for a minimal gain in ridership.

Depends on the Price elasticity of demand. In many cases lowering price to make up on volume is a sucker's bet. It may be that all Spirit will accomplish is to decrease their own margins for minimal gain.

Now imagine your credit score is 480 and you have $17 down. Sort of limits your options a bit doesn't it. That removes a large number of the entrants from the market very quickly (and rightfully, so). Pricing to these customers are based on their ability to pay back, not on normal market forces. Operating in this sector, without the intent to reposess is not profit maximizing.

You fail to account for the non-overlapping nature of many of the markets, many of these types of "loans" are generated by the local buy-here-pay-here. The local office may often set their own rates, hold their own paper, ect. They are limited by what they charge based on regulatory limits and the customer's ability to pay. It's key to the bussiness model that they exceed the customer's ability to pay, because that maximizes their profits through repossession and resale.They aren't free markets's because geographically there may be 1 or 2 companies inside the range of any individual sub-prime-doesn't-have-a-car-becuause-the-last-one-got-reposesed-buyer. The first place that offers a vehicle will win the business of these customers. They aren't competing with eachother generally. This kinda throws a hitch into you clear assertion that any change in their cost translates to lower prices, due to other preasures on the price outside of what one would see in markets that are closer to Free in the traditional definition. While I agree that "In the old days, a jobless single mother wouldn't be able to get a car loan at any intrest rate." I have to point out that the Buy-Here-Pay-Here was crated in response to a ballooning cost of vehicles relative to income in the 70's. Before that time it wasn't needed. Also, in the modern setting, many situations a jobless single mother still has a stream of income, that many banks will lend against not just the type of predatory lenders that generally service Buy-Here-Pay-Here type of debt.

"activist owners" = people I don't agree with?

There is the little detail about his inability to follow up on Minecraft's success with another marketable game.

The price is just so unbeleivably high for Mojang. It's like having a winning lottery ticket, and some one offering to buy it off you for 20x its value. $2B pays for alot of fine scotch to wipe away the taste of crow.

Take the money and run. There is nothing in Mojang worth $2B

And Goggle wasn't allowing that as an option, hense the lawsuit. Glad to see you agree with the decision.

Annex Central America (the same way we annexed the midwest), and we won't have to import it either. Less tounge in cheek, let's not make our coffee supply dependant on a near depleted aquifur. We already use it for our inferior subistutes for dead dinosuaurs and sugar.

Stuarticus, I think you really don't smell what I'm stepping in. Of course there are coerced, either by propaganda or force, suicide troops. That doesn't discount that there are those who would willingly do so. With Asymetric warfare bound by rules of engagement, there are more opportunities for those individuals to elicit significant impacts that don't require high tech weapons. I agree with you that it isn't a new animal, and the media and powers that be will always exadurate it and spin it to their own ends. If you never had to pick through the chum left behind after a suicide attack, maybe it isn't real to you. Could a few speed boats packed with HME cripple a super-carrier? Sure, if the occupants weren't affraid to die, and the stars aligned. It doesn't take may suicide troops to pull off that attack.

Now does that have any bearing on hypersonic missle development, not really. As always, we are preparing to refight a previous war not the next.