Maxed Out's James Scurlock and
Elizabeth Warren on NightLine
Watch these introductions to a new movie called "Maxed Out,"
for some perspective on this problem.
As this video points out, credit card debt comes with a steep price and often affects those who
are the most vulnerable people at their most vulnerable times. It hurt the poor and the middle class alike. And the people in
trouble are not just the careless "shopaholics" among us, but they are ordinary folks caught in a downward spiral of declining
incomes, increasing costs, skyrocketing interest rates and nightmarish late penalties and fees.
It is easy to get caught. It can happen before you know it. It is a classic "slippery
slope."
Some folks see this as simply the fault of greedy consumers spending money on luxuries they can't
afford. This is seldom the real case. More common are people who are forced to choose between food and medicine and some months
have to pay their light bill with a credit card so that their power isn't cut off. More and more "plastic" is being used for
necessities, not luxuries.
So, rather than condemn this huge new pool of debtors we need to say "there but for the
grace of God go I."
The truth is that this tidal wave of misery is due to a conscious plan by the banks to ensnare us,
and interest rates and penalties so high as to be impossible to overcome. They are able to get away with these practices because
they have essentially "bought" all our politicians, and have re-written our laws to benefit their greed. If you
don't agree, I'd like to hear your arguments to the contrary.
So, if you find yourself in this all too common trap, I think your best course of action is not despair
and self-loathing. It is acquiring knowledge, learning from past mistakes, and taking action. You
will find no easy and painless answers, but some courses of action appear to me much better than others.
