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Should usury be legal?

By usury I'm talking interest-bearing loans in general. I know there are usury laws prohibiting interest at a certain rate, but I'm referring to interest lending in the more general sense.

Here's my take:

Almost all of us are touched by and benefit from some form of usury. Even if the drawbacks outweigh those benefits, which is debatable, we all benefit either directly or indirectly. It shapes markets.

Supposedly it creates wealth because a certain percentage (say 80%) of every loaned dollar will be spent, and then a percentage of that will be spent by the person who receives it. And by the next person. And so on.

Usury allows us to purchase homes, cars, and college tuition at prices we would not be able to pay based on our wages and savings. However, because loans are available to everyone, their is a bigger pool of potential buyers for a given supply of goods, which supports higher prices. The cost is even higher when you factor in the interest you will pay on a loan for these price-inflated good. Even if you choose to avoid this interest cost by not taking out a loan, you are still buying and selling goods in markets which are inflated by many financed consumers. In essence, you can opt out of taking a loan, but you can't opt out of being part of a market inflated by usury.

If we ended all usury today, I think the pain would be extreme. Who would have paid for a $300,000 house knowing no one would be able to afford anything close to that because usury was ended? What would happen to our markets and currency value if suddenly no one had borrowed money to spend, and the people who sold to borrowers had no more eligible buyers? Who would be hurt worse? The 'skilled' workers or the producers of tangible things?

And as far as I'm aware, the only difference between lending with interest and usury is the connotation. The latter being negative. Correct me if I'm wrong on that point.

What are your thoughts?

edit: many small edits

By usury I'm talking interest-bearing loans in general. I know there are usury laws prohibiting interest at a certain rate, but I'm referring to interest lending in the more general sense. Here's my take: Almost all of us are touched by and benefit from some form of usury. Even if the drawbacks outweigh those benefits, which is debatable, we all benefit either directly or indirectly. It shapes markets. Supposedly it creates wealth because a certain percentage (say 80%) of every loaned dollar will be spent, and then a percentage of that will be spent by the person who receives it. And by the next person. And so on. Usury allows us to purchase homes, cars, and college tuition at prices we would not be able to pay based on our wages and savings. However, because loans are available to everyone, their is a bigger pool of potential buyers for a given supply of goods, which supports higher prices. The cost is even higher when you factor in the interest you will pay on a loan for these price-inflated good. Even if you choose to avoid this interest cost by **not** taking out a loan, you are still buying and selling goods in markets which are inflated by many financed consumers. In essence, you can opt out of taking a loan, but you can't opt out of being part of a market inflated by usury. If we ended all usury today, I think the pain would be extreme. Who would have paid for a $300,000 house knowing no one would be able to afford anything close to that because usury was ended? What would happen to our markets and currency value if suddenly no one had borrowed money to spend, and the people who sold to borrowers had no more eligible buyers? Who would be hurt worse? The 'skilled' workers or the producers of tangible things? And as far as I'm aware, the only difference between lending with interest and usury is the connotation. The latter being negative. Correct me if I'm wrong on that point. What are your thoughts? edit: many small edits

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It's great for Americans right now, because we don't have to do anything and the rest of the world ships us their products and we give them worthless paper in return. It's terrible for us in the long run, and will ultimately be the end of the country, because the fall of most civilizations throughout history has been brought on by its government devaluing their currency. Inflation is the silent tax. It destroys the purchasing power of our money. It's the reason why the working man gets poorer and poorer. People think that government entitlement programs are going to equal the playing field, but it only exacerbates the problem and sends us hurdling even faster towards monetary chaos. The only real way to help the poor in the long run is to build a factory and hire them to work in it. Our electorate is not prepared for something like that though, and they will ultimately vote in more entitlement programs and choose to sit on their ass and get free stuff. When China decides that our ride on the global gravy train is over, we'll be the financial equivalent of Venezuela, ie nobody will be able to afford milk at $500 a gallon and people will be burning dollars in the street to stay warm. The government will start a bread line, and everybody will have the socialism that they want.