Challenge That Debt!

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 on debt, even when it’s obvious you won’t be able to repay it.”

 .”The most striking thing in  my debt research is the degree to which Black Americans have been excluded from the opportunity to build wealth in this country.

  Black households are much less likely to have any inherited wealth, and that’s largely because of explicit government policies that favored white households. 

Consider the Homestead Act, under which the government gave away more than 270 million acres—equaling 10 percent of total U.S. land—to settlers, almost all of whom were white. And of course the early FHA (Federal Housing Administration) policies which gave many white households home ownership opportunities and a foothold in the middle class—but Black neighborhoods and households were largely explicitly excluded. “

Ondersma has good advice for people struggling with debt…..

“If debt collectors are harassing you and you can’t pay, tell them you will not pay and to stop calling or you will report them for a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

If you get something in the mail suing you for a debt, show up to the court proceeding and ask for proof that they own the debt and are entitled to payment—often they will not have it. 

And be aware that there’s a statute of limitations in every state for enforcing debt—in New York, for example, if the debt is over three years old they can’t sue you for it. But they might still attempt to collect, so be aware that you don’t have to pay it.”

 Overall — If you have debt, don’t feel ashamed; and if someone you know has debt, don’t judge them. It’s not normal, reasonable, or acceptable that a medical emergency means financial calamity and that a basic college education requires students to mortgage their futures. 

 It needs to sink in that people in debt are not frivolous or foolish, they are surviving. We need policy that reflects this reality. Our leaders can’t just keep throwing credit at problems like financial distress and inequality, and then punishing people when they use that credit.