Blackspot

Blackspot Debt Collection Agency

What if we purchased old debt and forgave it?

39 comments Micah White,

Citizens in the United States, and the rest of the world, have been saddled with an inescapable amount of debt. The average US household has more than $8,000 in credit card debt, up from about $3,000 in 1990. At 18% interest, $8000 will take more than 25 years to repay and ultimately cost more than $24,000. American students are graduating already deep in debt: the average student has $20,000 in student loans (source). I propose a novel solution to the consumer debt crisis: a Blackspot Collection Agency that buys and burns debt.

What happens when a person is unable to pay their debts? After receiving a few nasty calls and letters their debt is usually written off as a business loss and sold to a third-party collection agency. The third-party collection agency then legally owns the debt and may either try to collect the debt or may sell it again. By the time the debt reaches the stage of being sold for the third time, it is worth considerably less because the capitalist's hopes of recovering the full amount are slim. For example, in the screen capture above, you will notice that $2528.67 worth of credit card debt is currently being sold for only $110.91. There is someone out there in Klawock, Alaska whose $2528 worth of old credit card debt could be forgiven for pennies on the dollar.

What if we created a Blackspot Collection Agency that purchased old debt and forgave it? Doing so would undermine the foundations of the debt society by encouraging widespread debt disobedience by people who hope the Blackspot Collection Agency will buy and forgive their debt. And by forgiving the debt of average people, the Blackspot Collection Agency would prove that the anti-capitalists are doing more for the "common man" than the mega-corporations.

Could a Debt Forgiveness Agency work? What other ways can we escape consumer society's debt trap?

Micah M. White is a Contributing Editor at Adbusters Magazine and an independent activist. Micah is currently writing a book of philosophical meanderings into the future of activism. He lives in Binghamton, NY with his wife and two cats. www.micahmwhite.com

39 comments on the article “Blackspot Debt Collection Agency”

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I am so wise

09 February 2009 at 01:17 pm
A better system would involve sweat equality. Rather than merely forgiving the debt conjure up an agreement by which the person agrees to perform some manner of volunteer service, document it, and then submit it to this agency.

I am so wise

09 February 2009 at 01:17 pm
A better system would involve sweat equality. Rather than merely forgiving the debt conjure up an agreement by which the person agrees to perform some manner of volunteer service, document it, and then submit it to this agency.

Debt

09 February 2009 at 03:09 pm
I understand the good intentions behind this idea, but don't think it would really work. How would you distinguish between people who have been exploited by the debt trap and those that are simply being careless and irresponsible? And if this were to actually succeed, wouldn't it open to door to more irresponsible consumerism? People would know there are some crazy rich Blackspot activists out there that will forgive their debt. Spend without worry. Debt is like a virus. Trying to cure it with more money just makes it spread further. I think it would be more responsible and proactive if private money was used to build and sustain programs and infrastructure that would provide people with protection from the capitalist system and help them become more self-sufficient. Because while the debt trap is extremely destructive, people need to come to terms with their own lifestyles first and realize that owning a house, two cars, a flatscreen TV and fancy clothes on a salary of 30K-40K is just not sustainable. Then people need to come to terms with the fact that mass consumerism won't bring them the happiness they think they are buying. Lastly, they need to start looking for ways out of this trap, which is why we need to build support mechanisms. Then there is potential for change.

Debt

09 February 2009 at 03:09 pm
I understand the good intentions behind this idea, but don't think it would really work. How would you distinguish between people who have been exploited by the debt trap and those that are simply being careless and irresponsible? And if this were to actually succeed, wouldn't it open to door to more irresponsible consumerism? People would know there are some crazy rich Blackspot activists out there that will forgive their debt. Spend without worry. Debt is like a virus. Trying to cure it with more money just makes it spread further. I think it would be more responsible and proactive if private money was used to build and sustain programs and infrastructure that would provide people with protection from the capitalist system and help them become more self-sufficient. Because while the debt trap is extremely destructive, people need to come to terms with their own lifestyles first and realize that owning a house, two cars, a flatscreen TV and fancy clothes on a salary of 30K-40K is just not sustainable. Then people need to come to terms with the fact that mass consumerism won't bring them the happiness they think they are buying. Lastly, they need to start looking for ways out of this trap, which is why we need to build support mechanisms. Then there is potential for change.

Abbreviated

09 February 2009 at 05:18 pm
Forget a charitable agency, all you need to do is set up (and publicize) an easy to access database of all consumer debt currently "for sale." That way, someone who's deep in debt could purchase their own debt (at pennies on the dollar) and forgive themselves! No credit counsellors or refinancing loans required. The inevitable long-term consequence would still likely be, as "Debt" predicts, even less concern by certain people about getting into debt in the first place. But at least the cost would only be borne by the credit & debt collection companies, and not by "philanthropists" who could surely find better use of their money.

Abbreviated

09 February 2009 at 05:18 pm
Forget a charitable agency, all you need to do is set up (and publicize) an easy to access database of all consumer debt currently "for sale." That way, someone who's deep in debt could purchase their own debt (at pennies on the dollar) and forgive themselves! No credit counsellors or refinancing loans required. The inevitable long-term consequence would still likely be, as "Debt" predicts, even less concern by certain people about getting into debt in the first place. But at least the cost would only be borne by the credit & debt collection companies, and not by "philanthropists" who could surely find better use of their money.

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