Friday 9 November 2012

Now, *This* Is Thinking Outside the Box

This is awesome. And a terrific, creative extension of the Occupy Movement.

From How to Sharpen Pencils (bold in original):
Like many folks, Occupy Wall Street has been some doing good work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, helping people on the ground.

Now OWS is launching the ROLLING JUBILEE, a program that has been in development for months. OWS is going to start buying distressed debt (medical bills, student loans, etc.) in order to forgive it. As a test run, we spent $500, which bought $14,000 of distressed debt. We then ERASED THAT DEBT. (If you’re a debt broker, once you own someone’s debt you can do whatever you want with it — traditionally, you hound debtors to their grave trying to collect. We’re playing a different game. A MORE AWESOME GAME.)

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. As you can see from our test run, the return on investment approaches 30:1. That’s a crazy bargain!

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.
I had no idea how cheap 'distressed debt' is.

They're starting with a fundraiser/show -- that will also stream online -- on Thursday, November 15.

Donate and/or help spread the news.

ADDED: Video.

2 comments:

Beijing York said...

What a brilliant concept!

Pretty eye opening to find out how cheap our debt is for these financial institutions. Do they just pass them around with growing interest rates to keep them on their books? Is it a making money on money already spent smoke and mirrors game?

e.a.f. said...

what a wonderful idea! It is a project which would benefit those who are carrying debt they may never get out from under. What a wonderful way to spend $500 & really help some one. Might make a great Christmas project for some families & a great gift to those who will have debt relief.

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