The "Other" Debt

You would think there would be alot more turmoil and protests over the debt games being played out in Washington.  There ought to be protesters....angry mobs hating Republicans....upset Tea Party folks....etc, etc.  But there aren't.  So why?

Well....because Joe, your neighbor, owes $80k in college loans and he admits he won't be finished paying this off for another fifteen years.

Aunt Maude, your beloved aunt, owes near $60k on four VISA cards that she uses regularly to shop QVC....and will likely never pay off the cards before she passes on.

Charley, your favorite barber, owes $44k on a brand-new car that he bought.  He admits that he has never cleared more than $32k a year on salary but he's willing to take out a eight-year loan to get this sports car of his dreams.

Claude, your cousin?  He bought the $350k house back in 2007, with only $35k in the down-payment.  The house has gone down in value to $200k now and Claude is contemplating just handing the keys to the house over to the bank and declaring bankruptcy.

Karl, who lives down the street....wrapping up divorce number three?  He works sixty hours a week and barely takes home $1400 after paying alimony and child-support to the three ex-wives.  He's 42 and says he might find the right woman next time....if not....he'll be bankrupt by that point.

Sid, who bought property in Vegas as an investment in 2004?  The value just dumped by fifty percent and he's still paying $450 a month for this "investment opportunity".  It may take twenty years for the property to get back up to its original value....and maybe sell.

Tim, your buddy from high school?  He finally found a job after three years of unemployment....but had to move to Fargo, North Dakota to achieve this honor.  He lives out of a RV because his wife won't move to Fargo....and most all his check goes to the wife and kids at the old house.  

Frankly, we have become a huge debt crowd....in a debt nation, with no real grasp of what it was like in the 1970s.  Before the credit cards, QVC, massive college costs, alimony-on-top-of-alimony, and stupid property prices.....we were living a simple life, without much debt.  The same could be said for the nation itself.  We didn't build museum after museum.  We didn't build bridges on a whim.  We didn't hand out cash to research teams to figure out why bears like honey.

So, as you sit back tonight.....counting the few dollars left in your billfold....and watching a bunch of news folks get excited about the evil Republicans, the dimwitted Democrats, or the President's five-star speeches....you kinda wonder why anyone should get excited.  Until you've charged $80k on a couple of VISA cards....you really don't grasp debt or the depth of problems.  Course, the reverse is true too....if you as a nation owed a trillion dollars.....you really don't know debt.

Only in America.