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Debt: Today Slavery

In: Other Topics

Submitted By gcue
Words 2351
Pages 10
“Borrow money and you are the lender’s slave” (Good News Bible, Pr. 22.7). Along with the inspired words of God our Father, let us digest the words of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. The 13th Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” ( “Primary Documents in…”). Interesting, almost 149 years later, and with many Americans in debt today, the above words, can only suggest one thing; perhaps slavery or involuntary servitude is not dead but has only taken on a more disguised form. Although the above may be true, some believe debt is not slavery but a financial hardship brought about by one's own actions. With statics showing that the American public holds the bulk of the seventeen trillion dollar, deficits (The Debt to…); and that only 32 percent of Americans actually budget (Jacobe), one can come to believe this is true. That it is the public’s fault for not budgeting. For this reason, it is necessary that we diligently research and investigate past and present evidence to educate ourselves on the national debt crisis, so that we could shed some light on the root cause. First all, we will need to understand eccentric statistics on how many Americans are actually affected by debt today. According to Michael A. Fletcher of The Washingstonpost.com, three out five workers’ mortgages, credit card balances and installment loans are outpacing the amount of money they are able to save for retirement. In addition, Bill Fay of Debt.org acknowledges, that the more than 160 million Americans with credit cards have an average of three credit cards each, and on average, each household with a credit card carries more than $15,000 in credit

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