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Sorry everyone, I took down the original link because I wasn't sure everyone in our conversation about debt forgiveness/debt strike would feel comfortable havin
by ThomasGokey 14y ago
Sorry everyone, I took down the original link because I wasn't sure everyone in our conversation about debt forgiveness/debt strike would feel comfortable having a wider audience read it. But I've added all the relevant info about our project below. We'll be launching it soon and could use your help spreading the word when we do. I also welcome any feedback/criticism that you might have. Thanks.
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Our Story
The banks got bailed out and we got sold out. It’s time for a bailout of the 99% by the 99% for the 99%. Help us raise $5,000 to launch a large-scale debt forgiveness project.
Banks sell defaulted charged-off debt as a commodity for pennies on the dollar. The banks make so much money charging interest and imposing fees that they don’t mind selling some debts to collectors at a significant loss provided that the debtors are financially ruined in the process. So here's our plan: We're going to raise as much money as possible, buy as much debt as possible, and then forgive the debt outright. If we can raise $5,000 we will be able to launch the project by forgiving $100,000-$500,000 worth of personal debt. This project is 100% legal.
The Impact
The 1% gets rich by keeping millions of hardworking people poor and in debt. Over three quarters of all Americans are in debt and one out of every seven is currently being pursued by a debt collector. Debt Fairy liberates people from some of their debt by forgiving it outright.
But the real impact will come through non-cooperation with our own oppression. Nonviolent direct action searches for the point of contact between our lives and the unjust systems which exploit us. One point of contact can be found every month when we dutifully pay the banks money they didn’t earn. The 1% could not exploit us without our cooperation. If millions of us organized to refuse to pay our debts we could bring this unjust system to a grinding halt and demand real changes. Go to the Occupy Student Debt Campaign and sign the Debtor’s Pledge of Refusal.
Other Ways You Can Help
Spread the word! Educate yourself about how debt works and how we can liberate ourselves from debt by fighting back. Attend a GA at your local occupation and join a working group.
FAQ
Q. Is this legal?
A. Yes. After the savings and loan crisis in the 1980’s the government made it legal to buy and sell debt as a commodity. As the legal owner of this debt the Debt Fairy has the legal power to forgive this debt.
Q. Can you forgive my debt?
A. Unfortunately there is no way to seek out a specific person and buy their debt. Before purchasing the debt there is very limited information as to whose debt it is. The Debt Fairy is a playful creature and liberates people out of the blue.
Q. Can the Debt Fairy forgive student debt?
A. No. The government guarantees student loans made by private lenders like Sallie Mae which means that these private lenders will always make a profit no matter what and have no incentive to lend responsibly or to sell these debts at a discounted rate.
Sometimes a private lender will lend directly to a student in excess of the amount that the government will guarantee. This usually happens under highly predatory circumstances like for-profit scam schools such as the University of Phoenix. It is somewhat hard to find, but this highly predatory kind of student loan can be purchased and forgiven.
However, we are looking in to other ways we might be able to aquire and forgive student loans. We'll keep you posted.
Q. But shouldn’t we all pay our debts? Isn’t it unfair to forgive some people’s debt?
A. The 1% can always get their debts forgiven, even as they rewrite the laws to make it nearly impossible for the 99% to get out from under their debt. The 1% profits without working by keeping the rest of us in debt. The undemocratic system the 1% have built is unfair and unjust. The Debt Fairy is a small intervention to set people free from from their debt and give them a fresh start. Debt refusal or a debt strike is a way to directly confront the whole unjust system and replace it with a just system.
Q. Who/what is the Debt Fairy?
A. The Debt Fairy is a mysterious, anonymous, magical creature who playfully liberates people from their debt.
- smsm42 14y ago"$100,000-$500,000 worth of personal debt" is in no way something that 99% of people do. I can not think how one could get $500K of personal debt (excluding mortgages, etc.) without either multiple major catastrophic coincidences (by definition can't be 99%) or some very serious bad decisions going on for years. I do not buy that people owing 100-500K in personal debt are being "exploited" as a rule. This reminds me of this Person of the Year: http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/sarah_mason_time_protester_photos_occupy_la.php http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/sarah_mason_time_... who raked up debts by going on random shopping trips at the malls and then blames the evil 1% for it. I do not buy it and I would not buy it. As for the 1%-vs-99% rhetoric, it is kind of cute that people try to raise money using slogan-de-jour, but for me this sounds as a baloney. One can march on a street with slogans based on nothing but emotions and deep misunderstanding of economics, but as a business plan that does not sound good. Personally, I don't understand why I would give any money to selectively bail out worst debtors and thus incentivize their behavior. I'd rather give the same money to a local charity or local Red Cross - I know they help real people in dire need and I can be reasonable sure I'm not just financing some loan sharks and some innumerates with appetites exceeding their capacities to pay.
- ThomasGokey 14y agoJust to clarify, the $100,000-$500,000 is collective debt from many different debtors ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each. This isn't forgiving one single person's giant debt.
- smsm42 14y agoThanks for the clarification, it was not clear in the original message but makes more sense after the clarification. However, only a little more - among all charity I could do with my money, why should I select this particular one? I still see this would be incentivizing both irresponsible borrowing and irresponsible lending. I'd rather have the same funds go to either helping people in need directly or educating them about their rights and proper bankruptcy debt discharge procedures. Maybe I'm missing some important points there but it looks like this project is basically giving out money to people after selecting them by the property of being bad debtor (and without any filtering distinguishing unfortunate accidents from sheer irresponsibility). Of course, each person is free to choose his own charitable giving, but so far the case for it does not sound convincing.