People are lazy. Without penalties, nobody will ever pay a bill. Doesn't matter if they are rich or poor. They could have $1mm cash sitting on their desk and unless you motivate them, they're just not going to open the bill.
That's just the reality of sending bills or invoices. Half the time it's not about malice, just no reason to bother being timely.
This is simply not true, the vast majority of people continued to pay their bills and rent on time through Covid despite financial pressures and suspension of most penalties.
The cases of abuse are so egregious precisely because most people were just normal well meaning people doing their best to meet their obligations.
There’s really nothing lazier than making money simply by owning more than others. Such a person doesn’t have to produce anything of value. They can simply just use their outsized wealth to buy something others need, then charge money for access to it. This drains cash from those who have no other option than working for a living while their own coffers grow. Not just lazy, this actively makes the economy less efficient by increasing the cost of living and necessitating higher wages from employers simply to finance parasitism, which means value-producing businesses become less competitive also.
I can think of one thing lazier. Complaining on HN about what other people do to make money while having no understanding whatsoever of the business they engage in.
That's just the reality of sending bills or invoices. Half the time it's not about malice, just no reason to bother being timely.