[oswald622]

Simple - bring it on more quickly. If everyone stopped paying their mortgages all at once, stopped paying their credit card bills and car loans, student loans, the whole kit and kaboodle, it would be like the end of Fight Club but without the violence - not a tax but a credit protest, if you will. To destroy the system there simply needs to be a coordinated effort to opt out.

Isn't it time to unplug the life-support, to euthanize this sick and dying Scrooge of an economy? Perhaps not. Perhaps the time for such radical - and radically easy - action is not yet upon us, but a time may soon come when, like gods, we need merely to withdraw our force and presence from the world of mammon, for it to collapse without us.

How many non-payments will it take? And for how many months? Surely not many. Let us dress as Indians and toss our bills into the harbor, whooping and hollering as we go. Let us fatten the Pig of Debt, and fatten it and fatten it, then let the Snake of Usury choke on it in its greed, crush itself, and die ignobly.

As the 'Panic of 2008' carries on, and more and more fall behind on their obligations, this tactic of financial disobedience will become more and more attractive, beneficial, and viable. Spread the word, good Pilgrims!

[MacG]

Yea, you are basically correct. The entire thing would be over and done with in three months.

Only one itchy detail: You better think about what kind of system you want to have instead. If you don't think about that (and spread the word and get it accepted) you will just end up with another Ponzi-scheme by someone else's design. A week of starvation and you will agree on "restarting" the dollar or Amero or whatever currency some cunning gang suggests.

"If you use a system you don't understand, you can be pretty sure it's rigged against you."

A fair warning is prudent: When you start thinking about "systems" you might find that you have to re-evaluate everything you believe about other people, yourself and society. Might be possible for you and me, but most people just hate to think about such things.

[Ludi]

I like the "sharing" or "gifting" economy, personally.

[LoneSnark]

^ Wasn't there a South Park episode on those?

[MrBill]

I am all for this strategy. The more the merrier! Every consumer that takes on more debt than they can service, and then defaults, is just one more loser that falls off the general ledger. That means by living debt free and safely accumulating capital I can buy what I want for less. That is good for me! ; - )

[Duende]

MrBill wrote:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')very consumer that takes on more debt than they can service, and then defaults, is just one more loser that falls off the general ledger. That means by living debt free and safely accumulating capital I can buy what I want for less. That is good for me! ; - )

[MrBill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')An economic upswing and a cautious approach to borrowing are helping more households in Germany avoid problems with debt, Die Welt reported, citing a study by the consumer credit and information bureau Schufa.

In 2006, about one in every 14 German households was unable to pay its bills, the newspaper said, adding that the figure is expected to drop about 0.5 percent by the end of next year.

Singles, single parents, people under 24 and low-income earners are at the most risk of getting caught in the ``debt trap,'' the newspaper said. Unemployment, divorce and a lack of information about credit and finances are the main reasons for running into debt problems, Die Welt said.

[Lanthanide]

Sounds like a nice idea, doesn't it? Let's everyone 'stick it to the man' and stop paying all our bills to the banks.

You do that, and food, petrol and general goods will stop flowing into your local stores, most likely permanently.

Good way to garantee a mad max outcome.

[alokin]

Don't know. Sounds exciting first, but in reality I am not too worried about those who can't pay their credits. Who told them having a mega TV, a brand new car a big house electronic, gadgets? Nobody said them to borrow money instead of saving and paying cash. (Unless maybe a house, there are really few who are able to pay cash, but a smaller house means less mortgage.) But all other things one should buy when there is enough money on the account.
I would really feel bancrupt having a loan for our car, TV whatever, I prefer our second hand TV, a rusty car and no DVD player.
What are these people doing if there is an emergency or someone is ill and can't work? No savings nothing then credits?

I had this discussion with a friend recently, without success.

[MrBill]

I had this discussion recently in the context of the homeowner bail-out proposed by the Treasury department. To be honest the consumer is always just a hair way from financial disaster and it is totally their own fault.

Take comparisons between the USA and EU on things like

annual income
marginal tax rates
tax on petrol
mortgage interest deductions
mortgage downpayment level
etc.

and for the most part you will see that consumers are better off in absolute terms as a percentage of income that they get to take home or net pay including all deductions.

So why do Americans have low or negative savings rates? Why are they always so close to a financial disaster? Why do they always have to live-up to and beyond their current income, so that they are vulnerable to any change in the business cycle? Or to unemployment?

Even if interest rates are reduced to zero and mortgage rates frozen you will see consumers just take this new information into their financial calculations and then live-up to and beyond that new threshold. It is like a birth defect. They cannot help it!

[MacG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', 'E')ven if interest rates are reduced to zero and mortgage rates frozen you will see consumers just take this new information into their financial calculations and then live-up to and beyond that new threshold. It is like a birth defect. They cannot help it!