Occupy Wall Street’s Newest Project: Steal This Debt

Occupy Wall Street has begat a debt relief program — the Rolling Jubilee.

(Here’s their website.)

As you probably know, collection agencies operate by purchasing a debt for pennies on the dollar; then they hound the debtor for payment of the full amount.

Rolling Jubilee starts off the same way:  they purchase a debt for pennies on the dollar.  Then, instead of trying to collect, they forgive — i.e. abolish — the debt.  As one of the comments at the linked article said, this is the exact opposite of vulture capitalism.

So far, Rolling Jubilee has raised $294,422 with which to purchase — and wipe out — $5,893,271 worth of debt.

There was a fundraising concert yesterday which sought to raise $50,000 in order to purchase and eliminate $1 million worth of medical debt.

Strike Debt is the organization behind the Rolling Jubilee project.  Needless to say, Strike Debt is keeping a low profile and is NOT naming the industry insiders who make their debt purchases possible.  Some powerful banking interests are not pleased with their new competition and would love to squish it.

Apparently these “invisible hand of the marketplace” conservatives are only happy when the “Free Market” is rigged in favor of the banking industry.