Maybe not as smart as I thought

I’m a pretty big fan of Seth Godin. He’s not only really smart about marketing; he’s also a fantastic writer. And it seems to me, an all around good guy. So, I was rather disturbed to see this:

Why do people struggling for an income end up using an expensive check cashing service when the bank right next door will let them have a checking account for free?

The answer?

Just about everyone has noise inside their head. It’s a noise that keeps them from being rational, that forces them to avoid the simple truths sometimes, that makes them unable to take a shortcut when a long (more emotional one) is available.

Uh, no, Seth. Maybe you’ve never known anyone in a really tough financial situation, but checking accounts are not handed out for free to anyone who wants one. I don’t know about this from personal experience, thank goodness. But as soon as I read this it struck me as wrong. Five seconds of Googling will show you some of the reasons why people can’t get checking accounts. Bad credit, problems with a previous account and mistaken records can all result in being kicked out of the checking account eligibility club. People spend money they can’t afford to spare because their emotional intelligence is lacking? Stinks like privilege to me. Just because you don’t understand the reason for some behavior doesn’t mean there isn’t a perfectly rational reason for it.
Seth’s blog is all about marketing, and it seems to me that taking a little time to think about people and their decision-making might be useful in that field.