[gambiting]

Those are short term with a well defined end date and with clear upfront costs. Company towns were anything but, with workers frequently surprised with random charges at the end of the month just to make sure they don't accidentally make any money and pay off their debt to the company l.

[MonkeyMalarky]

They weren't all strictly the same though, there's some variations on the theme. One company in the past was in the business of buying fish from fishermen in small remote towns, transporting and selling it wholesale. They were also in the business of financing the boats for the fishermen. The terms of the loans were predatory and the company was a monopoly in the area, whatever money the fishermen made just went back to the company.