The debt trap is not an unfortunate side effect of the financial system—it is the core operating model of payday lenders, rent-to-own stores, and other high-cost credit products that extract hundreds of billions from low-income Americans each year. In this episode we break down exactly how these products are engineered to keep borrowers paying fees long after the original loan is due, and we map the regulatory choices that keep the system profitable. Listeners will leave with concrete steps to replace payday debt with lower-cost alternatives available right now.