Like a Barrel O' Monkeys

Deeper Economic Stimulus

When student loans default, huge corporations need bailouts to survive, thousands are removed from their homes, and personal dept becomes the third of the silent two (religion and politics) there is something seriously wrong somewhere. In fact, dept is a problem with two edges, both cutting deep.

The first edge is dept itself. Because credit card interest is higher than any savings interest ever could be, people who carelessly run up a balance and neglect to consider the numbers game they’ve just submitted to will often find themselves quickly generating dept at a faster rate than they can pay it off. Because dept has no upper ceiling, this can quickly turn into a life long enslavement only cured by bankruptcy, another of the finest ways to decapitate your financial future. Even a small amount of dept, when combined with a large or small disaster like medical trauma or an auto accident can pull you down the slippery slope.

Because this is now an affliction common to the majority of Americans dept has become a siphon, a leech, a hole in the bottom of America’s economic hope and hold. When individuals have disposable income they spend it. When individuals want to look like they have disposable income, they go into dept and buy things as well. However, a prosperous no-dept lifestyle is sustainable and healthy—while the fake-prosperous lifestyle is temporary and lasts only until the bank forecloses and the repo men come.

Think of what a change it would make if people paid for things up front with money they saved. No more dept, no more monthly payments. Finances would be simple, angry letters would go away, the power would stay on, and most importantly they would have money to spend. This money, with no negative side effects, would spur the economy. All it takes is time, time to generate this money without the trap of dept, without letting the leech bite down.