"Jail for Unpaid Debt a Reality in Six States (Strategic Default Pushback Watch)"

Roubini Global Economics ^ | 7142010 | Yves Smith

[ScottinSacto]

I can just see this in CA....Sacramento County Jail won't take misdemeanor arrests anymore and CDC is sorting out which drug dealer and rapist to release early....but hey! You didn't pay those bastards at Chase their minimum payment and 28% interest when you got laid off so you get to spend time in the concrete hotel honeymoon suite with Bubba....who didn't get released early and is mad at the world about it.

I don't know what the credit company expected when they give $20k to a guy who has never had a job or place of residence lasting more than 10 months (relative of mine). Seems like some fault lies with their own idiocy.

[American Constitutionalist]

What about the $ 14 Trillion national debt that is unpaid ?

[television is just wrong]

obama should go into debtors prison and all his cabinet members with congress too.

[TheDailyChange]

“A good Washington DC contact told me that a public relations/media push to demonize those who decide to walk away from mortgages they can still afford to pay (aka “strategic defaulters”) is underway. Expect to see a good bit of moral fervor as those who choose to cut their losses are attacked as immoral, irresponsible, and abusive.

There is a wee problem with the “blame the ruthless borrower” narrative. Banks who acted in a ruthless manner have trained their customers to behave the same way. This shift in prevailing attitudes is the logical and inevitable result of financial firms taking an increasingly predatory posture toward their customers. Borrowers are responding in kind, by taking a cold-blooded and legalistic look at their agreements with lenders.”

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/06/pr-push-against-strategic-defaulters-underway-is-there-a-debtors-prison-in-your-future.html

[MattAMiller]

The debt is made up of bonds which are constantly being paid out. Not really related to the thread, but it’s a common misconception that the national debt is just a big pile of loans the government is welching on.

It’s an important point because anxiety about the debt is a center piece of a lot of calls for increased taxes. Spending is a bigger problem than the way we’ve chosen to finance it.

[sten]

hmm... when the day comes to pay my taxes or pay my debt... which choice should i make?

when i accepted the debt, my taxes were 50%. started next year they will jump 32% to 66%. and i wouldn’t be surprised if they pushed it higher.

30-40% jump in taxes would be a 30-40% cut in the money i would have to pay the debts (mortgages etc). how’s that supposed to work???

[krb]

Who said it’s going unpaid?

[OneWingedShark]

...Pay your taxes with your credit card?

[piytar]

Just another straw on the camel’s back.

It’s going to come to blood. Seas and messes of it. I hope not, but I’m increasingly sure it will...

[gunsequalfreedom]

Here is one to watch out for.

Paid off and closed my account at Capital One years ago. They showed the account still open but with a zero balance.

Then comes a letter in the mail that says, we will start charging you $15 per month. This not optional.

The son’s of guns have now started to charge people that once had an account with them and owe nothing. I had to call to cancel the account...again.

The banks are getting desperate.

[gunsequalfreedom]

We have a financial revolution going on in this country. Consumers are simply walking away from their debt.

Why do you need a credit rating if you don’t plan to ever again pay interest or borrow money?

The way to win the game sometimes is not to play it.

Our family got free of the game by going debt free (we did not walk from a dime). Who can blame those that do walk away when banks are pulling stunts.

Someone with excellent payment history on their card, great credit rating and a 6% interest rate gets a notice that their rate is going to 21%.

[gunsequalfreedom]

It’s going to come to blood. Seas and messes of it. I hope not, but I’m increasingly sure it will...

For your prediction to be wrong you will have to see the economy pick up. See any signs of that?

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Just another straw on the camel’s back. It’s going to come to blood. Seas and messes of it. I hope not, but I’m increasingly sure it will...

+1

[sten]

where do i get the same kind of credit card that congress critters use? you know, the one you have no limit and never have to pay

[The Pack Knight]

Several things don't add up here. I'm not familiar with Minnesota's laws, but in most states contempt isn't generally available simply to enforce money judgments other than child support decrees, and it certainly isn't available to enforce outstanding debts that haven't been reduced to judgment.

Normally, a judgment debtor is only held in contempt for failing (when ordered by the court) to give an account of assets and income required for garnishment and exececution. The following quote from the article suggests that that's what's going on here: "[The judge] told [Deborah Poplawski, the debtor,] to fill out the form listing her assets and bank account, and released her. Several weeks later, Debt Equities used this information to seize funds from her bank account."

Also, the article mentions that "debt-buyer firms" are buying debts that are "often five or six years old". In most states I'm aware of, the statute for limitations on contract obligations (including debts like these) is three years.

As usual for a newspaper article on legal issues, this one is short on important details.

[pnh102]

Glad to see valuable police resources being used to go after such dangerous criminals. Meanwhile, our streets are infested with gangbangers who are never even touched.

[mo]

Get back to me when we’re frog-marching the Congresscritters, Federal beurocrat regulators -the ones watching porn on your and my computers rather than doing their jobs-and investment bankers-all of who’s conduct has imperiled the survival of America.

[Bon mots]

The IRS will do this to you with glee.
You are also guilty until proven innocent.

THE I.R.S.

Now armed with military-issue shotguns to serve your better.

[Quiller]

That is an over-under shotgun.

Mostly for sport shooting, sometimes for hunting, definitely not military issue.