Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Debt Trap


A little something from anxiety culture
"Debt is disguised Poverty"
"The average dept per Uk household is around £7000, excluding mortgages. Politicians want us to believe this is due to irresposible spendthrifts abusing easy credit, but according to recent research at least one in five people in Britain resorts to debt to cover basic living costs.
Of course some people do use credit to fund "greedy" lifestyles, but overall spiralling debt has more to do with Britain's low-wage culture and high poverty level.
One in five UK households lives on a poverty-level income.
Wages at the lower end of the market are less now in real terms, than in the 1970's.
While banks and credit compnies make record profits from criminally misleading promotions, they're quick to lecture us on "responsibility". It's no coincidence that record bank profits are announced at the same time as record household debt.
Debt functions as a social control mechanism, making us anything but "free". You can't afford to be choosy about jobs when you're in debt. The people that run the economy see this as a good thing."
For the full article, and more go here


1 comment:

Hobbit's Journal said...

An interesting blog, I intend to read the full article. Last month when my mum died she left some debt and I was left with the unsavoury business of sorting it out and dealing with the nasty people concerned. Eventually I sought legal advice, the solicitor commented on the fact that these loan sharks or companies always borrow to people knowing full well they may not be able pay it back!