The Intercept: YOUR DEBT IS SOMEONE ELSE’S ASSET (We need a debt jubilee!)

[mastermind]

COVERING THOUSANDS OF YEARS in just under seven minutes, “Your Debt Is Someone Else’s Asset” ends with a rousing vision of the future: a world after a jubilee, an ancient term for the abolition of debts and rebalancing of power between the rich and the poor.

A collaboration between The Intercept; artist Molly Crabapple and her creative partners at Sharp As Knives productions; and writer Astra Taylor, this short film invites us to understand our debt in new ways. Our monthly payments are a source of profit, a form of wealth transfer from struggling borrowers to the well-to-do. These profits are a source of power; debt is never just about money. In the United States, debt has long been used as a form of social control and a tool of white supremacy.

Taylor is a co-founder of the Debt Collective, the nation’s first debtors’ union. This film reflects Taylor and the Debt Collective’s conviction that debtors and their allies will need to get organized to fight for the political and economic transformations we deserve.

 

[OfTheCross]

beat me to it...this is a fact. but I'm gonna watch the video anyhow

 

[Outlaw]

Who told you to get into debt?

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

Who told you to get into debt?

uh.... society?
"buy" a house, "buy" a car, student loans, owning a credit card.
in other words... LIFE!

 

[Outlaw]

uh.... society?
"buy" a house, "buy" a car, student loans, owning a credit card.
in other words... LIFE!

You didn’t have to do any of those things and besides you received a good or service for purchasing on credit. Are you suggesting that you should receive those things for free despite it costing time and labor to produce those goods bought on credit?

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

You didn’t have to do any of those things and besides you received a good or service for purchasing on credit. Are you suggesting that you should receive those things for free despite it costing time and labor to produce those goods bought on credit?

It's called a credit card

And everything else you said is incorrect
I have a friend who had no choice but to get a vehicle, he lives too far from where the company that hired him is.
What are saying? He could move closer to the place of work? Yes correct, you are right, he did the research, and it would have required a mortgage.

So again, because life.

 

[Outlaw]

It's called a credit card

And everything else you said is incorrect
I have a friend who had no choice but to get a vehicle, he lives too far from where the company that hired him is.
What are saying? He could move closer to the place of work? Yes correct, you are right, he did the research, and it would have required a mortgage.

So again, because life.

What are you saying here? He should receive a car for free?

 

[mastermind]

Who told you to get into debt?

America

 

[Prince.Skeletor]

What are you saying here? He should receive a car for free?

I never said anyone should get anything for free.
I'm saying in life you will get debt, that's just life.
For the average person unless you born into wealth.

 

[Outlaw]

I never said anyone should get anything for free.
I'm saying in life you will get debt, that's just life.
For the average person unless you born into wealth.

Student loans is the only debt that is bullshyt that you listed in my opinion which shouldn’t exist. Everything else that you listed is a self inflicted wound that you should take responsibility for. Cars can be paid off in 5 years and there are very affordable cars that someone could buy.

The problem is when people try to live above their means.

Housing shouldn’t be considered a ball and chain debt especially in this economy.

Houses are generally appreciating assets so even if you have to take out a mortgage you’ll probably end up ahead in the long run.

 

[mastermind]

The problem is when people try to live above their means.

Wages have not kept up with inflation.

Houses are generally appreciating assets so even if you have to take out a mortgage you’ll probably end up ahead in the long run.

because 2008 didn’t happen

 

[Outlaw]

Wages have not kept up with inflation.

because 2008 didn’t happen

Forgiving all debt will skyrocket inflation

2008 was an anomaly manufactured by unregulated greed. In normal times houses are appreciating assets

 

[No1]

Student loans is the only debt that is bullshyt that you listed in my opinion which shouldn’t exist. Everything else that you listed is a self inflicted wound that you should take responsibility for. Cars can be paid off in 5 years and there are very affordable cars that someone could buy.

The problem is when people try to live above their means.

Housing shouldn’t be considered a ball and chain debt especially in this economy.

Houses are generally appreciating assets so even if you have to take out a mortgage you’ll probably end up ahead in the long run.

You can scrutinize anyone on earth and find moments where they made a suboptimal decision - that’s human nature. The ramifications of that are also based on entirely on what we as humans decide. When I worked internships in college, many of them wouldn’t pay us. So we basically existed on canned food and whatever we could get from our parents and tried to buy in bulk at Trader Joes. We often shared food with each other when someone’s parents couldn’t ship them anything. We took the bus in the morning to look presentable and then walked him afterwards to save money in 90 degree heat and got home drenched. Other used credit cards because they had no support. It was the only way to move up In the world and stat pad resumes. It’s just the way America works. Debt is a necessary component of social mobility.

 

[mastermind]

Forgiving all debt will skyrocket inflation

2008 was an anomaly manufactured by unregulated greed. In normal times houses are appreciating assets

Of course it will because the wealthy people have told you that. Meanwhile they get all of their debt forgiven and just hoard.

And of course 2008 was an anomaly that they have done over and over again throughout history.

Daddy Cap ain’t your friend.

 

[Outlaw]

You can scrutinize anyone on earth and find moments where they made a suboptimal decision - that’s human nature. The ramifications of that are also based on entirely on what we as humans decide. When I worked internships in college, many of them wouldn’t pay us. So we basically existed on canned food and whatever we could get from our parents and tried to buy in bulk at Trader Joes. We often shared food with each other when someone’s parents couldn’t ship them anything. We took the bus in the morning to look presentable and then walked him afterwards to save money in 90 degree heat and got home drenched. Other used credit cards because they had no support. It was the only way to move up In the world and stat pad resumes. It’s just the way America works. Debt is a necessary component of social mobility.

Debt is a symptom of the problem not the cause. The only way for true upward mobility is to heavily invest in better education. If we wiped all debt I’m sure a good majority of people who are currently in debt would get right back into debt