I will never forget Professor Widner. He was my Black history professor in college and he told our class something that I will NEVER forget:
If we all stopped paying our credit card bills we would end capitalism.
You see, our entire monetary system is based on credit and it would crumble if we didn't continue to feed the system. In essence, the system could not exist without our debts to financial institutions.
Are you tired of being in debt? Do you think most people want to be free of debt or would they rather be in debt then be free of it? And let's say we all got together and stopped paying our debts...then what?
By the way, very soon after that conversation in class, Professor Widner stopped teaching at my university. I've always wondered if his strong political views got him fired.
9 comments:
I personally am tired of the debt process but feel our society is engulfed in it. I think some people don't realize the debt cycle they are in because it's the only example they've had, therefore, may not notice they are in debt. It's kind of like a hamster running around on its exercise circle. Meanwhile others may have been taught the fundamentals of the financial system from their parents; how to save, how to spend wisely, etc. So I think in taking those circumstances into consideration, I think that our society is not organized enough to boycott the credit system. There is no sense of urgency much like there was in the days of our elders & as a result to stop paying our debtors would in turn do the opposite of it's purpose. But... with the way the economy is looking, folks just might get the urge to wake up and open their eyes...
Our esteemed blog leader has already called me a hater. I personally think credit is good and can be used effectively when controlled and caution is used. A lot of people think credit is bad but it's the irresponsibility of people which cause it to be bad, especially younger people who fall into debt.
We should protect our investments, only use or borrow what you can afford and need, and pay it back. Ability to get credit allows you to leverage your personal power and opens opportunities.
I'm all for debt, lending, and credit..
(Don't know if that was the topic or not)
I think if credit/debt isn't real, because money isn't real...then we are all living an illusion. We really have bought into the idea that we are to work 40+ hours a week until we are 65. Man have we been fooled. What a great freakin' hoax...at our expense, nonetheless.
It actually makes me mad that we are all hamsters on that wheel Marcia refered to. We don't even use the brains God gave us to make lives better for ourselves and our children.
When I have children it will be for them to change the world, not conform to it.
Okay, so yes I'm tired of debt but I don't think people want to be free of it. Most people like to be controlled; makes them feel apart of something in a very sick way. On Lauryn Hill's unplugged album she has a song called "I get out". Destiny lies outside of the box. We gotta "get out" to be free.
I don't know what would happen after we stopped paying credit but I know we'd be one step closer to freedom.
I applaud those you are in search of and those who have obtained financial freedom – Amen! I do not want to be controlled by my debt or anyTHING for that matter. I have choose to no longer get direct deposit, to not pay bills via credit cards, etc. but to send payments via mail, money gram, etc. I will choose (without the late charge of course) who to pay and when. I had so many people taken money out of my account I had to get in line to get some for myself – lol.
Never no more, never no more, never will a sucka score – never no more.
I love the line that Monique brought back by the 'Souls of Mischief', "Never no more, never no more, never will a sucka score – never no more."
I absolutely do feel that you have to take back your finances from bill collectors! Otherwise everybody will be auto-drafting your ass, and after you look at your statement you'll be at zippo without a single grocery bought.
Also, I feel as through just as mush as it's our responsibility to be in control of our personal finances; there are also financial pitfalls and traps dug out and covered with leaves for you fall right into. We've certainly been duped by wall street since the beginning of it's inception. We've got to take back our lives...
Money and the monetary free market system as a whole revolves on the participation of all the subjects it exploits; therefore, debt and credit are essential components for the system to continue. PLAY THE GAME...The system makes sense when placed in the historical framework of all previous civilizations barter systems that have a small group of decision makers that want to keep the available resources within their grasp. (Who willingly gives up their privilege) Since we (the world)have no real system that completely abandons this way of viewing economics (capitalism, communism, socialism, and fascism all hold the same principals of a controlling elite making the decisions) you cannot complain because your whole life has been a barter of some sort. I.E. most parents invest in their children whether monetarily or lovingly to help their family grow in prosperity. This system is a credit based system done under the cloak of love and a parent’s natural responsibility to the children, but in actuality a parent has no real responsibility outside the laws of a certain civilization to provide for the child. Like Marcia says it is how most are raised and it moves us toward and prepares us for how r economic system works, just some children are prepared better than others.
BUt the nostalgic points that Marcia makes about the past generations sense of urgency is ridiculous because a misguided civil rights movements or anti-war/student revolts led us toward the blind allegiance to capitalism and many of the most disenfranchised people now acceptance of the destructive illusion known as the "American Dream."
interesting viewpoint.
Do parents parent on a credit system? no. if anything, parents parent in an "investment" system. most of us want a return on our investments. its the reason why we do it, but just like in everything in life, there is no guarantee. its a choice you make once you invest.
misguided civil rights movement? i believe the civil rights movement was based on raw emotion an our inate need for equality and peace. We lost sight of what we all really needed which was a right to be who we are. Not to conform to what the masses deem "normal"
Shane, investments from the heart aren't rooted on a monetary system. The system is credit and it's not disguised as love and actually I think that's the funny part...there is no disguise AT ALL. They play with our lives - in front of our eyes wide shut. There's actually no disguise at all but we think we owe people something and if we keep thinking this way, things will never change for generations to come. We buy into the fact that we are supposed to owe and be in debt. We are born free. Why have we accepted this? It is an illusion and one I think won't last for much longer. Credit is only based on our lack of collective understand of how the majority of us are f**ked while the 1% of the nation continue to gain power.
To Sahshajay
An investment means that the entity in which you allocate your funds into is indebted to you in pricipal for the promise of a favorable return on your investment. i.e. you'll send your kids to the best institution for higher learning, or provide the best food so they wont be unhealthy...This is what a bank does, even though the bank lends illusionary money and backing to said currency, it is much in the same way parents lend support, love and understanding to their children. All an illusion in SOME cases in which a parent cuts of the child after a while because of lack of return on the investment, which some cases has left the child indebted to the parents illusionary good graces. (Or some cases where money is dyre, you'll c n JUdge shows the parent seeks to recoup the investment) Look past the sentimental aspects and understand that the whole nuclear family model is nothing more than microcosm of capitalist structure and a way to control the reproduction of a future workforce. And to your other point, yes! you just proved my point when you said "[I] believe the civil rights movement was based on raw emotion" which is to say any knee jerk reaction lacks the introspection to be effective. There is NO innate longing for peace, as if we something different from every other competing organism on earth. Survival of the fittest ma, and this the way human's are trying to survive and provide for the continual lineage of our respective families. just like every species on this planet.
To Shelli
You sound like a defeated victim woman. 1% of the population has always enjoyed the benefits of a civilization's cultivation of resources. Why complain about that when you are in a position, with an understanding of what’s happening, to start a business or create a new way of thinking about economics. Heart is a sentimental way of thinking and disguises itself in masculine forms of lending. You don’t just go to any bank to get money; your first inclination is to go with the most "trusted" institution. When I say Heart, all I am saying is that a parent’s investment or lending of resources is metaphorical expression and analogy of what happens in the larger scale of free market politics. As I said to the aforementioned blogger, the nuclear family is set up for larger capitalist goals and we as humans set God, love, compassion, and other comfortable metaphors to soften the burden of the capitalistic system.
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