Debt Society

I remember the early 80's when Comic Relief came on HBO to raise money for the homeless. Segment after segment, there were images from middle-class families suddenly laid low.... images of whole families in cars cause a family member got sick and expenses got too high; images of a laid off steelworker who couldn't even find work as a busboy and is now hanging out at bus-stops with the boys, hoping for a one day gig.

I learned from that. I learned never to put anything on my house that might cause anyone to take it away. The only two things are my mortgage and my association fees. For those of you consolidating debt and you own a house. Realize please, that your house is on the line.

I've a feeling that with today's vote in Congress, all this is going to change and it's going to be possible for the corporations to take away my housing if I don't pay even my unsecured debt back. I need to read more about it but I've got this queasy feeling.

Again, I'm going to re-iterate my niggling thought... that the reason the Bush Administration and the NeoCons are doing all this to dismantle Social Security, Bankruptcy, etc, is to ensure that we are beholden to our jobs. Look, the unions have no teeth, the government has no teeth (they're in the pockets of these people) the journalists have no teeth... and the internet? It's just a noise machine that helps drown out the truth.

I remember reading in H.S. about indentured servants... and how people signed contracts that basically made them slaves in everything BUT the name... and the promise of freedom. I always wondered how they got suckered into that. Now I know. It's called keeping up with the Jones.

[edited] It turns out Paul Krugman of the NYT has the same opinion as I do. He had an opinion piece in the NYT.

Filed under Politics & B.S. and Reveries & Paranoias.