Okay. This isn’t directly related to culture or the arts. But once I stopped giggling over the naughty-sounding phrase “stimulus package” I started watching CNN Money. They’re talking consumer confidence and how we get the banks to start lending money, etc. And they were saying how we’re all on this together blah blah blah

Okay but seriously – why isn’t anybody offering to relieve consumer debt???? I mean most people I know spend a big part of their income paying student loans and credit card bills. If the government wants to stimulate consumer spending and at the same time curb people of their bad habits then why aren’t they helping us out? Why not create a non-bankruptcy consumer debt relief program that gives a partial (or total) do-over for individuals to get out from under their crushing debt burdens? The program could include mandatory financial counseling from a federal finance corps (like the WPA) dedicated to educating Americans and helping them remain solvent and productive?

But that is just crazy I guess. Why help regular people when you can just give all our tax money to banks?

Oy vey.

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Okay so I know I should be writing about culture and stuff. I just got back last Sunday from ten days abroad and have been digging out from under a heap of emails and huge massive piles of backlog work. I was in Tel Aviv for awhile, which is amazing. It is like Paris with Palm Trees. I saw tons of cool art, partied with the Batsheva dance company at the Susanne Dellal center and much, much more. It was hard to come back to cold, cold, NYC. But I’m getting back in the swing of things.

And what with the holidays and all, my thoughts turn to credit card debt. According to Wikipedia (and their sources):

• Total U.S. household debt, including mortgage loan and consumer debt, was $11.4 trillion in 2005. By comparison, total U.S. household assets, including real estate, equipment, and financial instruments such as mutual funds, was $62.5 trillion in 2005.^[47]
• Total U.S Consumer Credit Card revolving credit debt was $937.5 billion in November 2007.^[48]

It just seems to me that if the government can bailout AIG to the tune of some $85 billion and Citi to the tune of, what, $45 billion? And a total bailout plan to all the fatcat investors of nearly $1 trillion dollars – that maybe it would be a really great idea to bailout more regular american who are burdened by credit card debt. Many people have accumulated debt that they’ve had since they were in their 20′s. The credit card people target students, we live in a culture that saturates common consumers with overwhelming messages to get into debt for a better life, etc. etc. Wages have remained stagnant at the  price of living has gone up, etc. etc.

Imagine the financial stimulus if people who are spending significant parts of their annual budget trying to pay down credit card debt – and never being able to get out from under it – could actually start over? What if they could have the opportunity to restructure their personal finances to get ahead and become a more robust and healthy part of the economy? Surely someone could figure out a way to distinguish between the chronically malfeasant and the redeemable but burdened debtors?

How about a bailout plan for the little guy?!!!

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