Blackspot Debt Collection Agency

What if we purchased old debt and forgave it?

Blackspot Debt Collection Agency

Screen capture from third-party collection agency that is selling consumer debt for pennies on the dollar.

Citizens in the United States, and the rest of the world, have been saddled with an inescapable amount of debt. The average US household has more than $8,000 in credit card debt, up from about $3,000 in 1990. At 18% interest, $8000 will take more than 25 years to repay and ultimately cost more than $24,000. American students are graduating already deep in debt: the average student has $20,000 in student loans (source). I propose a novel solution to the consumer debt crisis: a Blackspot Collection Agency that buys and burns debt.

What happens when a person is unable to pay their debts? After receiving a few nasty calls and letters their debt is usually written off as a business loss and sold to a third-party collection agency. The third-party collection agency then legally owns the debt and may either try to collect the debt or may sell it again. By the time the debt reaches the stage of being sold for the third time, it is worth considerably less because the capitalist's hopes of recovering the full amount are slim. For example, in the screen capture above, you will notice that $2528.67 worth of credit card debt is currently being sold for only $110.91. There is someone out there in Klawock, Alaska whose $2528 worth of old credit card debt could be forgiven for pennies on the dollar.

What if we created a Blackspot Collection Agency that purchased old debt and forgave it? Doing so would undermine the foundations of the debt society by encouraging widespread debt disobedience by people who hope the Blackspot Collection Agency will buy and forgive their debt. And by forgiving the debt of average people, the Blackspot Collection Agency would prove that the anti-capitalists are doing more for the "common man" than the mega-corporations.

Could a Debt Forgiveness Agency work? What other ways can we escape consumer society's debt trap?

Micah M. White is a Contributing Editor at Adbusters Magazine and an independent activist. Micah is currently writing a book of philosophical meanderings into the future of activism. He lives in Binghamton, NY with his wife and two cats. www.micahmwhite.com

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April
03, 2009
06:34 am
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I wish I could buy back my debt, I really would. — Anonymous
March
10, 2009
05:01 pm
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CreditCards.com posted a blog entry about this post: http://blogs.creditcards.com/2009/03/radical-ideas-extinguish-your-debt.php — Micah White
March
10, 2009
09:34 am
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I think you mean Klawock, Alaska. AK is Alaska, AR is Arkansas. — Anonymous
March
10, 2009
05:00 pm
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Thanks, I fixed the error. — Micah White
February
18, 2009
02:06 pm
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Another take on a similar idea: http://www.piratecaucus.com/2009/02/debtor-union.html — Micah White
February
17, 2009
02:23 pm
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This is beautiful. Thank you for thinking of it. — Anonymous
February
16, 2009
12:19 pm
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school loan debt is by far one of the most cancerous problems we have in this country. i have debt from school loans that i don't see how i could ever repay. what do i have to show for five years of school? a worthless piece of paper. i definitely didn't learn a damn thing except that college is a scam. how can so many young kids be conned into believing that college is worth it? clearly, personal responsibility has nothing to do with the fact that so many people are in debt from school that they'll never be able to repay, intelligent people that were duped into believing that what they were doing would lead them to a better life when in fact it ruined their life in many ways... — philbert
February
12, 2009
04:09 pm
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I think that this is the first step towards a real revolution. The debt suprastructure is one of the foundational elements of the modern capitalist system. If this part of the economic nexus is crippled, it would be difficult for the entire system of capitalist exploitation to persist. We could establish a truely socialist system on the ruins of hollow banks and creditor headquarters. — Aaron Moore
February
12, 2009
02:59 pm
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NOW you're talking. I knew I loved you guys for a reason :) This is exactly what alters the mental environment, my friends. — Carrie Armstrong Reid
February
12, 2009
01:33 am
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The general principle behind this idea is definitely intriguing, but I agree with those who have said that it needs to implemented in the context of a system that promotes personal responsibility. The last thing we want to do, after all, is to support the notion that people can spend as much as they want without consequence. — Anonymous
February
11, 2009
07:43 am
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We don't need to only forgive credit card debt. We can also buy and forgive medical debt and student loan debt etc — Anonymous
February
10, 2009
10:15 pm
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This is a wonderful idea! I definitely would wanna see testimonials if this plan were to come in fruition. — othello
February
10, 2009
08:43 pm
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or you could just not buy shit you don't need that results in debt — Anonymous
February
10, 2009
07:28 pm
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I like the idea of people being able to "buy back" their own debt at a lower rate through a publically accessable website.. although this will still allow the third party collection agencies to flourish. This would mean that they would be paying back an amount closer to the original amount borrowed, and without the interest that has probably made it unaffordable to repay. There could also be options for relatives and friends to band together to help someone in debt by all buying a little bit of their debt (what a great xmas pressie). I wonder if we can make this work for Third world debt too. — Sandi
February
10, 2009
10:08 am
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It'd be interesting to see what would happen if we set up an organization that tried to buy all the debt of a particular postal code. So the residents of a single zipcode could work together to buy their collective debt and forgive it. — Anonymous
February
09, 2009
07:18 pm
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Forget a charitable agency, all you need to do is set up (and publicize) an easy to access database of all consumer debt currently "for sale." That way, someone who's deep in debt could purchase their own debt (at pennies on the dollar) and forgive themselves! No credit counsellors or refinancing loans required. The inevitable long-term consequence would still likely be, as "Debt" predicts, even less concern by certain people about getting into debt in the first place. But at least the cost would only be borne by the credit & debt collection companies, and not by "philanthropists" who could surely find better use of their money. — Abbreviated
February
09, 2009
05:09 pm
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I understand the good intentions behind this idea, but don't think it would really work. How would you distinguish between people who have been exploited by the debt trap and those that are simply being careless and irresponsible? And if this were to actually succeed, wouldn't it open to door to more irresponsible consumerism? People would know there are some crazy rich Blackspot activists out there that will forgive their debt. Spend without worry. Debt is like a virus. Trying to cure it with more money just makes it spread further. I think it would be more responsible and proactive if private money was used to build and sustain programs and infrastructure that would provide people with protection from the capitalist system and help them become more self-sufficient. Because while the debt trap is extremely destructive, people need to come to terms with their own lifestyles first and realize that owning a house, two cars, a flatscreen TV and fancy clothes on a salary of 30K-40K is just not sustainable. Then people need to come to terms with the fact that mass consumerism won't bring them the happiness they think they are buying. Lastly, they need to start looking for ways out of this trap, which is why we need to build support mechanisms. Then there is potential for change. — Debt
February
09, 2009
04:03 pm
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I'd donate as well. Brilliant idea! — Anonymous
February
09, 2009
03:17 pm
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A better system would involve sweat equality. Rather than merely forgiving the debt conjure up an agreement by which the person agrees to perform some manner of volunteer service, document it, and then submit it to this agency. — I am so wise
February
09, 2009
02:02 pm
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If there were a paypal set up for this I would donate in an instant. — Anonymous

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