It’s surprising to think that just 50 years ago, most Americans lived a debt-free lifestyle. The country has only been around for a little over 200 years and people quickly forget the lessons they learned in the past only to repeat them over and over again. Debt is what brought down the great Roman empire and all the empires that followed. At the end of Rome, the government was taxing citizens at over 80% and at the same time, it had its own form of quantitative easing by adding tin and other metals to the denarius, rendering it practically useless. Repetitively and without learning from the past, the United States is printing $ 85 billion a month under QE3. I guess QE1 didn’t work so they needed QE2, then “the Twist” and finally QE3, which should really be called QE infinity because it doesn’t have an end date. In reality, the United States has turned $ 800 billion into $ 4.3 trillion. When you look at history to see what happens when a country does this, hyperinflation sets in. Many experts predict that the United States will never be debt free again outside of bankruptcy. That is, of course, if the country could declare bankruptcy. The problem with filing for bankruptcy in the United States is that there is no one to pick up the pieces and erase your debts.
It is no different between the government and its citizens, as most Americans are now buried under a mountain of debt. It is difficult for many of us to remember the days when we were debt free and had a savings account. It was recently reported that young adults are leaving college with $ 27,000 in school loans and $ 25,000 in consumer debt. They haven’t even taken a job yet and already owe $ 52,000. The sad thing is, most of them bend over and try to continue their education because they can’t get a job. They then end up with a debt of more than $ 100,000 and no way to pay it off. The scary thing is that student loan debt will never go away, it will follow them for the rest of their lives unless a catastrophic illness or accident occurs and they are unable to work. Other than that, debt is like an embarrassing tattoo someone got when they were drunk and it’s almost impossible to get rid of. What happened to the days when you were debt free and living within your means? For the average American, it is not much better. It was reported a few months ago that the average American has $ 16,000 in credit card debt. With wages declining in the last five years, the same person only earns about $ 35,000 a year, down from $ 42,000 the year before. Our ancestors of this great nation are probably rolling in their graves while imposing restrictions on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution to protect the country from ending up as it is. The problem is that, as the Bible says, we live in a fallen world that is guided by sin. The Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil, it says, the love of money is the root of all evil and that my friend is where our problems are.
Banks are not helping at all, as they are subjecting Americans more and more to debt bondage. The only way to break the cycle is to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy when the going gets tough. People buried under a mountain of bills and paying minimum payments are kicking their way. Living from paycheck to paycheck is not a way of life and they should consider speaking with a bankruptcy attorney to see if filing debt free is a viable option for them. Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will eliminate a large amount of unsecured debt quickly and easily. The bankruptcy code keeps changing and that is why it is best to discuss the matter with a bankruptcy attorney. As the government keeps changing the rules on average people, it’s best to be proactive when it comes to financial matters and file for bankruptcy before it’s too late. As the laws continue to change in favor of the big banks, I would no longer be surprised if the government took back debtor prisons.
