Occupy Wall Street purchases $15 Million of Americans’ Medical Debts

The Rolling Jubilee Project, a spin-off of Occupy Wall Street, has purchased nearly $15 million worth of personal medical debts, and has forgiven the debts.

The group spent $400,000 to buy the debts at a fifty-to-one ratio.  This random act of kindness has liberated 2,693 people who had been overwhelmed by medical expenses.  A message at the Rolling Jubilee website says:

“Think of it as a bailout of the 99 percent by the 99 percent.”

Remember:  Sixty percent of American bankruptcies are caused by medical bills.

Here’s another article that says “Occupy Wall Street’s debt buying strikes at the heart of capitalism.”

The article makes some interesting points.  It closes with:

“And if your instinct is to point out that $15 million is so small a drop in the ocean as to be insignificant, my response would be: not to the 2,693 people who received that letter. The sparkle of a lit fuse is, by its nature, humble.”