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Title: Citizens’ Economic Stimulus Plan -- Stop Paying Credit Card Debt
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URL Source: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21315.htm
Published: Nov 24, 2008
Author: Richard C. Cook
Post Date: 2008-11-24 19:06:15 by richard9151
Keywords: None
Views: 286
Comments: 13
Citizens’ Economic Stimulus Plan Stop Paying Credit Card Debt By Richard C. Cook November 24, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- Now to the Wall Street bailouts, the plan for the government to purchase preferred shares in banks, and the takeovers of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG, may be added the intention announced last night that the government will throw another $20 billion at Citibank, the nation’s largest financial institution. The announcement came after Citibank’s stock fell 60 percent last week to $3.77 a share. Of course it won’t help the 50,000 people Citibank is laying off, but, what the hey, no plan is perfect. Meanwhile, almost nothing has been done to help the consumers within the producing economy who have lost trillions of dollars in the stock market crash, seen the value of their homes fall in many cases below what they owe on their mortgages, and lost jobs or health benefits through the escalating recession. Fannie Mae, which over the weekend sponsored a Walk for the Homeless in Washington, D.C., an event that drew thousands of participants, had announced the previous day that it was placing a moratorium on further home foreclosures until after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Wow, thanks. But what then? Everyone agrees that the recession will be long and deep, not only in the U.S. but in nations that export to us. The Federal Reserve can only go so far in cutting interest rates, because at a certain point nations such as China which have floated the Federal deficit will no longer lend. Besides, what good are low interest rates if borrowers can’t even afford to repay the principle, which is the situation so many of us find ourselves in today? Japan found that out in the 1990s, leading to a recession that lasted a decade. So what are ordinary people to do who have families to feed, rent or mortgages to pay that are still inflated from the collapsed housing bubble, unmet medical or insurance expenses, or may be trying to get their kids through college? Should we go deeper into debt when U.S. households, businesses, and government already owe in the neighborhood of $60 trillion (excluding federal unfunded debt liabilities), almost five times the GDP? Banks have cut back on lending anyway. Then there are the jobs programs. The Senators who bowed down to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson when he came to extort $700 billion for Wall Street scolded the Big Three automakers who came seeking help in salvaging an industry that still employees millions. But maybe by cutting worker wages and benefits the carmakers will be able to limp along a while longer. Or maybe we should wait to see if president-elect Barack Obama gets his economic stimulus plan through Congress after he is inaugurated. Granted the plan may result in some new jobs a few years down the road once the additional federal borrowing to pay for it works its way through the economy. But will America still be alive by then? Ladies and gentlemen, the financial system has destroyed America. And really and honestly, the folks in Washington, both those arriving and those departing, don’t know what to do. I have argued in recent articles that the government should implement what I have modestly called the “Cook Plan,” whereby a dividend similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund would be paid to every U.S. citizen at the rate of $1,000 per month in vouchers for food, housing, and other necessities of life. This dividend would be paid out of the U.S. Treasury, where I used to work, from an emergency self-financed account without recourse to taxes or government debt. The dividend would constitute each citizen’s fair share of the producing potential of the economy, as advocated by Social Credit reformers in the British Commonwealth nations for decades. The vouchers could then be deposited in a new network of community savings banks that would revitalize local economies through lending at zero-percent interest, charging only administrative fees and a small amount of lending insurance for access to capital. Such a system would provide recompense for the vast amounts of money stolen from citizens’ pockets due to a lifetime of borrowing from financial institutions which are now looting our children’s and grandchildren’s heritage to pay for generations of abuse. This abuse has taken place under a debt-based monetary system by which banks create money out of thin air, then charge the rest of us interest to utilize it for survival. This system has operated for almost a century under the auspices of a Federal Reserve System accountable to no one. The “Cook Plan” would bring real reform to a system that has collapsed. The plan would begin to correct the primary cause of the recession, which is the steep decline of consumer purchasing power. Of course I am not so deluded as to believe Congress or the incoming Obama administration would implement it. Why would the politicians turn against a financial system which paid their way into office? As indicated by the announcement that Obama will appoint Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as his treasury secretary, it’s the banking system that will continue to oversee the government, not the other way around. Even so, I would be happy to explain the "Cook Plan" to Mr. Geithner - for free. But the citizens must do something. How can we just sit and wait while the financial monopolists smother the economy to death in order to protect their wealth and privileges? The least they could do is declare a moratorium on debt payment until the economy is functioning again or cancel the most egregious types of debt-abuse, such as credit card or student debt. But they are not likely to do this either. So citizens’ can be forgiven if they simply stop paying. Many home purchasers are already doing this—turning in the keys to their homes and driving away. Who can blame them? But the worst of the debt may be credit card debt, where the controls on interest rates and penalty charges were lifted long ago and the government stopped providing a tax deduction for interest paid. In many cases, interest on credit cards is 28 percent or more, which means that even by making the minimum required payment, consumers see their balances grow each month. That the politicians could continue to allow such evil to exist is astounding but proves who their masters are. So until real relief is forthcoming, citizens who are in distress should simply destroy their credit cards and stop paying the monthly bills. People are already doing this. Arrearages and defaults are climbing, and credit card debt is starting to be viewed as the next bubble to burst. But so what? If people have to use a credit card, that means they can’t really afford to buy whatever it is they think they want. If they can afford it, they should use a debit card instead. Then tell the credit card company you cannot pay. Ask them to write off some or all of the debt, and if they want to take you to court, go on your own and defend yourself. You don’t need a lawyer, and you don’t need anyone’s permission. You also don’t need to go through the horrendous “reformed” bankruptcy system the credit card companies got Congress to pass in 2005. Failure to pay credit card debt is not, thank God, a crime in this country, and there are no debtors’ prisons—yet. Besides, if people do not pay credit card debt, that money remains in circulation. So default is actually a form of patriotism in today’s trying circumstances. And the credit card companies really don’t lose anything, since the money didn’t exist before they lent it to people who are now broke. Where I used to live in the country in rural Virginia, the story was going around about a farmer who fell down in the pen where he was feeding his pigs, and the pigs ate him. That is what has been happening in this country. The financial industry which is now swilling at the public trough has been eating alive a nation that was once “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Richard C. Cook is a former federal government analyst who writes on economic issues. His new book, We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform, is now available and may be ordered at www.tendrilpress.com (303-696-9227). His contact email is EconomicSanity@gmail.com.
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#1. To: richard9151 (#0)
Buy gold and silver with your credit cards first!
"Not the victory but the action; Not the goal but the game; In the deed the glory" Dies ist gut Not a good idea. I know a person who quit paying his credit card debt and the courts garnished his wages. Now he not only has his credit card debt but all legal costs as well.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976
That is why you negotiate with them first. Also, this is a little late in their game to get ansty about debt; I did what he suggested about 20 years ago, and told the credit card companies to go fish. It was not a problem, but only because I had no further interest in credit. Today, because of the new laws passed at the insistance of the banks, it can be more difficult. But still worth doing. The main point that he makes is that when you refuse to return the credit to the banks, it permits the credit to circulate longer and takes a small amount of pressure off of the system, as fools continue to return the credit to the banks and then look around and wonder where all of the money has gone. And if you wonder if I am calling people, who continue to make their payments under these conditions to the banks, fools, that is exactly what I am doing. As long as people continue making payments to the banksters, the collaspe within America will continue as more and more money disappears.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.
_______________________________________________________ Click for Privacy and Preparedness files Nehemiah 4:14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Yes, but don't you live in Mexico? It's kind've hard for the US government to take you to court and garnish your wages if you are living in another country. Unless you are working for an American company, then I guess they could. If people want to quit paying their credit card debt that's fine with me. I'm just letting them know that there are consequences.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976
I did not live here 20 years ago; I was contracting in Montana. As in building houses and doing remodling work. I'm just letting them know that there are consequences. There are consequences in all actions, not just in this. If anyone thinks that watching violent movies and porn, blood sports such as ultimate fighter or just being unable to turn off the sports period, or going way into debt in the first place does not have consequences, that someone is living the life of a fool. Warning such people about something this obvious is like using a tin cup to keep the Titanic afloat.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.
Warning such people about something this obvious is like using a tin cup to keep the Titanic afloat. The author makes it sound like you can just quit paying and everything will be OK. Based on watching what happened to someone I know, this is not the case. I shared that information. You are not required to like that I shared it, nor are you required to care about the consequences. Nor is anyone else. If a person reads the article and still decides to quit paying the credit card companies more power to them. It's there choice and I have no problem with it. But they will do it knowing the whole story.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976
Besides, if people do not pay credit card debt, that money remains in circulation. So default is actually a form of patriotism in today’s trying circumstances. And the credit card companies really don’t lose anything, since the money didn’t exist before they lent it to people who are now broke. Thanks for the advice. If possible, I will pay my credit car debt back (even though it never existed until I charged it). If not, then I will write it off as a loss. ;) The bankers(aka. "Jews" - fuck you ADL!), should be tarred and feathered. They have almost ruined a former great nation.
God is always good!
Easy solution, get paid under the table. Try garnishing an illegal alien's wage. LOL!
God is always good!
Ja! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
"Not the victory but the action; Not the goal but the game; In the deed the glory" Dies ist gut Es lässt sich Zeit und Bemühung, aber Sie können hat geschlagen sie an ihrem eigenen Spiel, wenn Sie zu wollen.
"Not the victory but the action; Not the goal but the game; In the deed the glory" Dies ist gut Just ask for direct pay for work done. No company, no checks, no credit cards, just direct gold, silver, or cash for services and/or products sold. No receipt either. All products and or services bought are bought as is.
God is always good!
Ja!
"Not the victory but the action; Not the goal but the game; In the deed the glory" Dies ist gut Kaufen Sie Gold und Silber mit Ihren Kreditkarten zuerst!
#2. To: richard9151 (#0)
Besides, if people do not pay credit card debt, that money remains in circulation. So default is actually a form of patriotism in today’s trying circumstances. And the credit card companies really don’t lose anything, since the money didn’t exist before they lent it to people who are now broke.
#3. To: Hayek Fan (#2)
his credit card debt but all legal costs as well.
#4. To: Beendigen Sie die Kommunisten (#1)
Buy gold and silver with your credit cards first!
#5. To: richard9151 (#3)
That is why you negotiate with them first. Also, this is a little late in their game to get ansty about debt; I did what he suggested about 20 years ago, and told the credit card companies to go fish. It was not a problem, but only because I had no further interest in credit.
#6. To: Hayek Fan (#5)
Yes, but don't you live in Mexico? It's kind've hard for the US government to take you to court and garnish your wages if you are living in another country.
#7. To: richard9151 (#6)
There are consequences in all actions, not just in this. If anyone thinks that watching violent movies and porn, blood sports such as ultimate fighter or just being unable to turn off the sports period, or going way into debt in the first place does not have consequences, that someone is living the life of a fool.
#8. To: richard9151 (#0)
Failure to pay credit card debt is not, thank God, a crime in this country, and there are no debtors’ prisons—yet.
#9. To: Hayek Fan (#2)
Not a good idea. I know a person who quit paying his credit card debt and the courts garnished his wages. Now he not only has his credit card debt but all legal costs as well.
#10. To: PSUSA (#4)
#11. To: RickyJ (#9)
Easy solution, get paid under the table.
#12. To: Beendigen Sie die Kommunisten (#11)
#13. To: RickyJ (#12)
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