Student loan debtors are very nervous about their new higher loan payments. If they cannot get “income-based repayment” — for whatever reason– the new payments may be economically back-breaking. I have had borrowers ask me if they could declare bankruptcy. Until a couple of years ago, my answer was that they would probably fail. In…
Payday loans nationwide are responsible for a large percentage of the really awful, disastrous, family-killing debts that trap low-income Americans. Payday lenders will gladly tell you about the problems they face, and the costs they have to cover. These loans are massively profitable, nonetheless, for everyone from multinationals to Indian tribes. Lenders blame their high…
Republicans generally don’t care about medical debt. They consider it their primary mission to lower federal spending. They count on Medicaid recipients being a pretty passive bunch — many do not vote at all, much less vote about health care programs. The Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act would slash $1.1 trillion from Medicaid, the…
The issue of student loan forgiveness is really the province of the Democratic Party. An astonishing percentage of Republicans (at least astonishing to me) take the attitude of “You made your bed, now lie in it.” Republicans argue that taxpayers would bear the cost of defaults on federal loans. They also argue that it is unfair to those…
This new book looks like a great one ……. Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy by Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, and Deborah Thorne Debt’s Grip uses eleven years of court records and surveys to describe what it means to live in financial precarity in the United States. Bankruptcy filers describe the privations and struggles they suffered. It documents…
This blog has been active since 2022, and has covered many aspects of unjust personal debt, such as prisoners owing debt for child support, or veterans owing money for medical care actually received at the VA. My focus has always been on individual debt. I have not addressed the larger problem of public debt. Now…
Chris Hedges – a former minister and foreign correspondent — has described himself as a socialist and anarchist. His interviews and blog posts are always stimulating. He points out: “Workers who are unable to meet their debts are far more likely to remain submissive and compliant. Debt peonage has always been a form of political control: 1. Native…
People in debt are easily tempted by offers to “pay off your high-interest credit card with a new, lower-interest loan.” However, debt consolidation is extremely vulnerable to scammers. Here are nine ways to tell if the offer is a scam: 1. The agency asks for an upfront payment A true financial counseling firm will never ask you…
Chrystin Ondersma is a law professor at Rutgers Law School, and an internationally recognized expert in bankruptcy and household debt. Here are some highlights from her latest book, Dignity Not Debt. “Anyone who has debt and feels ashamed and alone must understand that it’s not their fault—our whole system is designed to force you to rely…
Trump’s offensive against the Consumer Finance Protective Bureau (CFPB) is not really about libertarian small-government. Nor is it really aimed at cutting back excessive federal spending. The agency’s cost– which is only $750 million per year- does not have a meaningful impact on the federal budget. The closing is mainly about large financial favors for…