The recent debates over Covid policy have often referred to  “healthcare paternalism.”  This gets my attention. Paternalism is extremely relevant to the problems of debt. Should we let young people who are ignorant of finance take out student loans? Should we let anyone with a modest income have an unsecured credit card? Should we ban…

More than 6,000 debt collection firms operate in the United States, collecting billions of dollars each year. These collectors flood small-claims and other state courts with lawsuits seeking repayment. Millions of collection lawsuits are filed each year in state and local courts that have effectively become collectors’ courts. Debt collection lawyers can file hundreds of…

Here is a wonderful article from Rachel Cohen of The Intercept. It highlights recent efforts to  cancel carceral debt – such as  probation fees, bail bond fees, and charges for daily incarceration. Carceral debt came to light following Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri in 2015. A legal advocacy group (ArchCity Defenders) reported that Ferguson had issued…

Here is my detailed study of the pros and cons of Single Payer health care. Single Payer Healthcare: Social Insurance vs. Medical Darwinism The first section covers what Single Payer is likely to cost, and which taxes could be increased to pay for it. I make a special effort to be realistic about both savings…

The most painful stories in the student loan pantheon involve borrowers who have actually tried to pay their debts, but wind up owing more than they actually borrowed. If they only make minimum payments, or miss some payments due to financial hardship, the interest charges will eat them alive. The person who “borrowed $40,000, made…

Attached is an article from Pro Publica that shows just how savage things can get in the collection of medical debt. Perceptive historians describe the constant state of war between debtors and creditors. Cases like this one in Kansas have the force and cruelty right out in the open. There is a hopeful note, though….

Income-based repayment has its own problems….. I was depressed to read this account — though not necesssarily surprised. I have looked on income-based repayment as a partial savior for the student loan mess. The program as advertised has two very desirable features:— monthly payments are capped at a percentage of discretionary income;— the debt is…

Here is the website that actually inspired me to develop the Anti-Debt Agenda. I encountered these powerful stories about student debt in about 2016, and have returned to them numerous times over the years. What depressed and angered me (and still does) is not that these people made mistakes. They chose college majors with little…