Occupy Wall Street campaigners buy-up debt to abolish it

In my late teens I took on debt, some of it was my fault, but some of it was companies taking advantage of my age and the fact I was not educated, after they in debited me, they then proceed to charge intrest rates even the mafia would be ashamed of. 10 years later and I still have not got my self out of debt, the more I learned I realized it was a scam, selling my little debts to debt collectors so they can add on 29% intrest on a student who had nothing.anyways i can write a whole book on debt my real reason for this posting is because I found this article and found it very interesting.

PS I am not ashamed to say I owe money because I feel like I was tricked and used by big companies to get me into debt, if anything the guy who calls my phone 10 times a day only to get the same respons out of me and the person who charge an 18 year old kid 29% intrest should be ashamed. 

A group of campaigners linked to the Occupy Wall Street movement is buying-up distressed loans for pennies in the pound and cancelling them to "liberate debtors at random".




The Rolling Jubilee project is seeking donations to help it buy-up distressed debts, including student loans and outstanding medical bills, and then wipe the slate clean by writing them off. Individuals or companies can buy distressed debt from lenders at knock-down prices if it the borrower is in default or behind with payments and are then free to do with it as they see fit, including cancelling it free of charge.

As a test run the group spent $500 on distressed debt, buying $14,000 worth of outstanding loans and pardoning the debtors. They are now looking to expand their experiment nationwide and are asking people to donate money to the cause.

David Rees, one of the organisers behind the project, writes on his blog: "This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need - to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy.

"Now, after many consultations with attorneys, the IRS, and our moles in the debt-brokerage world, we are ready to take the Rolling Jubilee program live and nationwide, buying debt in communities that have been struggling during the recession."

A video released to promote the project says: "We shouldn't be forced into debt to cover basic needs like healthcare, housing and education. We need a jubilee, a clean slate. The math is on our side; a little bit of money goes a long way. If we can raise $50,000 we can buy a million dollars worth of debt and abolish it. "We bailed-out the banks and in return they turned their backs on us. We don't owe them anything, we owe each other everything. It's time for a bail-out of the people, by the people."

My Source:
telegraph