Now that the election’s over, we can start to focus on the more important things again, like what to do about people in so much debt in this country.
If you have debt and understand the pain of this situation, you can help others with debt.
I just found out about Strike Debt, at http://strikedebt.org/. They have a project called The Rolling jubilee. They are trying to raise $50,000 to help buy 1 million dollars worth of debt.
There’s an event happening November 15th, where you can go, and give, and this nonprofit will buy debt, in a big package, and forgive it all. Poof! Gone!
Before you ask, no, they cannot buy an individual’s debt. Which is a bummer. this is because banks and credit cards sell it in big batches. So if you defaulted on a loan, they would sell it to a debt collector. This debt collector could buy your debt of $14,000 for, say, $500. And then keep harassing you to pay it. Isn’t that scandalous?
You may not be able to buy your debt, but you can contribute to a movement to buy other people’s debt, and forgive it. Which would be a tremendously altruistic thing to do.
I don’t normally advocate giving to specific causes on this blog, mainly because I think you can make up your own mind about these things. Heck, if you’re here, you probably already have tons of causes you care about.
However, this resonates with me. Imagine you’re a college kid, with $12,000 in student loans. For you, unemployed, this is insurmountable debt. You’re so ashamed you can’t even tell your friends. Then one day, you get a letter, your debt is gone! All of that debt, just vanishing! And then, who knows? Maybe the people whose debts are gone will turn around and donate to this nonprofit again, enabling them to buy more debt, and more debt, and forgive it all! Why did no one think of this before?
Debt is strangling the American economy. Seriously. We have a trillion dollars in student loan debt (more than credit cards) because college costs have risen 90% in the last 10 years. This movement will not just help a few isolated individuals, but will help us rise out of this morass of debt that is keeping us from building a better future for ourselves and our children.
What is a debt jubilee? I’ve already written about a debt jubilee here. This is a biblical concept of every 50 years, all slaves being freed and all debts forgiven. even Forbes magazine thinks it’s a good idea.
Meanwhile, if you ever studied economics in school, and even if you didn’t, Adbusters has created another devastating critique of neo-classical economics, in pictures, here. http://kickitover.org
So in conclusion, the more we help others, potentially, the more we are helping ourselves. Give them your email and they’ll let you know when they can receive your donation. I wish I could put a donate button here because I think this cause is about our justice, justice from the people, not depending on court systems (which can be slow) and not depending on our congress and senate, because they accept donations directly from the institutions who are keeping us enslaved to debt.