A post this morning reminded me yet again that people view credit scores as something super mystical and that the way it works makes no sense. This is all due to framing what a credit score actually measures incorrectly. A credit score hardly measures if you can pay off a debt. In a way, this is a basic function of it, but it really is measuring something completely different about an individual. A credit score is a single value that represents how much potential you have of producing/supporting more capital with initial capital provided. By just taking a loan to buy a good or service, you are supporting whatever industry with immediate capital, and then also promising you will provide capital in the future through the form of work. If you don't take any loans out, then you aren't supporting Capitalism is essentially the message.
Again the goal of a bank is to make you a repeat customer. Now if you always come to take a $1000 loan, pay it off in full, and just keep doing that, then your score will most likely stagnate. They want GROWTH. They make a lot more from a $100,000 loan than they do the $1000, so they want people to take these, but how do I know if that person will come back for a $1,000,000 loan? If they go and use that money for producing more capital, then they'll be back. How do they determine who to give the high $$$ loan? The person who has furnished their debts before, and has been increasing their income and continually borrowing more and more to be able to produce more and more.
While I agree this system is somewhat broken, viewing a credit score this way really changed my view on banking and personal finances. It's absolutely not geared for individuals in poverty or people who don't like debt. But that's not what capitalism is about! Capitalism obviously prioritizes those who have capital and pursue growth.