Should the guvmint declare a personal debt amnesty?

Question

I think the government should declare a debt amnesty. They're always moaning about the level of personal debt in this country. What they forget is that low wages, extortionate mortgages, exorbitant transport prices, rampant unemployment, high taxation etc. etc. are THEIR fault, not ours, and that the reason people live beyond their means is Government incompetence, not so much personal fecklessness. You cannot live within your means when you're in a part time, minimum wage job.

So I think there should be a debt amnesty. You should be able to take your mortgage, credit card bill, red letters from the electric board etc. to the local police station, leave them all anonymously in a big box, and never see them again.

As for the banks and their profiteering, multi millionaire directors and share holders, I say UP YOURS to the lot of them. If they find themselves running out of money after the amnesty, there are plenty of crap, unsocial hours, minimum wage jobs for them.

Answer 1

i can see your point to a certain extent , there a lot of people struggling out there but for good reason , there are limitless oppurtunities out there were you can make a good living . there is no reason for a grown adult to be working part time minimum wage to try to support themselves besides lazyness or bad decisions in the past . you cannot expect things to be given to you , you have to work hard like everybody else .

Answer 2

You are certainly free to do exactly that - throw away all your bills. At best, you will declare bankruptcy, and at worst, you'll be charged with theft. But you will never be given credit again and everything you buy will be with cash, which will certainly force you to live within your means.

You're not the victim here. If you don't have the money, don't spend it. I'd love to live in a mansion, but I live in a house for which I can pay. I've done so since I was starving, working student - no credit cards for me back then and I never missed a rent payment. There are always ways to get by within your means. If you don't care to do so, then don't complain you're being taken advantage of. Your best revenge is to work hard and become wealthier.

Answer 3

What country are you in? In the US, the unemployment rate is under 5% - the lowest it's been in decades. Wages are rising, and taxes have been cut. Mortgages are NOT controlled by the government here, so they have no blame there.

Personal debt is just that - incurred by the person, and therefore their responsibility, not the government's.

Perhaps you should quit living beyond your means. I have two children and am the only wage-earner. I am a clerk in a doctor's office - not a high-paying job, and with no benefits. I manage not only to live within my income, I save money every month in a savings account. So don't whine to me about what's YOUR FAULT. It can be done - I am doing it!

Answer 4

How then would anyone want to put forth the effort to better themselves and their situation. By allowing people to shirk their responsibilities when ever things start to get tough, they never learn how to make things better for themselves. I think the government does this too much already. There is already a great belief in the world today that nobody should have to suffer the consequences of their own actions. It's not up to the government to pull people out of every little jam they get themselves into. The government is not our mommy and daddy, and we are not perpetually five years old.

Answer 5

1. It probably would be an unconstitutional taking of personal property.
2. The biggest debtor is the government (national debt). What happens to that?
3. What happens to the institutions that are owed. If they are publically traded companies, then you're just taking from the stockholders.
4. It wouldn't take long before the American public is right back in debt. The fault is theirs not the companies. No one is forcing them to overspend.

Answer 6

I struggled for 25 years to get where I am today. I had minimum wage jobs, lived very poorly with only my NEEDS being met. No wants. No self gratification. I worked my way up. I believe in paying your bills. ALL of them.
I believe people want the gov to fix all for them and then cry the gov is in our business too much.
Today's people are a self-gratification bunch. Live close to the bottom line, pay your bills, all of them, and work your way up.

Answer 7

People are responsible for their own debts. No amnesty

Answer 8

OK, if you like the prospect of tax rates being pushed up to 90% to pay for it all.

Answer 9

AMEN!