Occupy to buy private debt and then abolish it

[Fykus]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/15/occupy-rolling-jubilee-debt-forgiveness

"Banks sell debt for pennies on the dollar on a shadowy speculative market of debt buyers who then turn around and try to collect the full amount from debtors," reads the organisation's website. "The Rolling Jubilee intervenes by buying debt, keeping it out of the hands of collectors, and then abolishing it."

Is it me or does this sound like a bad idea?

 

[nowaydude]

sounds like a bad idea lol

i didnt read the article, but what is their justification for this 'bailout'?

 

[hawkeye]

It sounds like a good idea to me. Or at the very least interesting. How much of an effect they will have remains to be seen.

It's perfectly valid to buy and sell debt instruments.

It will certainly give some people a free ride but the entire system of credit has been so heavily abused by governments and banks that it will take innovative thinking like this to solve the problems.

If it works, I could see bigger groups of people pooling money via the internet to do it on a grander scale.

 

[BigSteve]

I don't see it making much of a difference. If demand increases for these debt instruments (by altruistic groups, or a crowd-sourced community with self-interest) then the price will go up. So no more 'pennies on the dollar' and the benefits are negated.

 

[Big A.D.]

I don't see it making much of a difference. If demand increases for these debt instruments (by altruistic groups, or a crowd-sourced community with self-interest) then the price will go up. So no more 'pennies on the dollar' and the benefits are negated.

Only if you look purely at the demand side of the equation and don't consider the underlying debt instruments being traded.

The reason the debt is cheap to begin with is because people can't repay it. The debt buyers can bid the price up from 5c in the dollar to 50c in the dollar if they like, but if people ultimately can't repay the debt then it's true value is zero.

 

[Dogmatix]

I don't see it making much of a difference. If demand increases for these debt instruments (by altruistic groups, or a crowd-sourced community with self-interest) then the price will go up. So no more 'pennies on the dollar' and the benefits are negated.

Only if you look purely at the demand side of the equation and don't consider the underlying debt instruments being traded.

The reason the debt is cheap to begin with is because people can't repay it. The debt buyers can bid the price up from 5c in the dollar to 50c in the dollar if they like, but if people ultimately can't repay the debt then it's true value is zero.

That's generally true, but ask Bankwest/CBA what the value of unpayable debt is.

Also, there are other reasons to have unpayable debt - it gives some form of control. Control of Govt (too big to fail), control of population, control of assets.

But in a purely financial sense i tend to agree.

 

[willrocks]

Hell, I'd like buy my own debt for pennies on the dollar.

 

[JulieW]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PiXDTK_CBY[/youtube]

 

[renovator]

Hell, I'd like buy my own debt for pennies on the dollar.

Well well well ... :lol: someone who was bagging debt the other week in threads all over the show has debt ......very interesting .....very interesting indeed . Its only a matter of time before you all come undone 2 down only a few to go :lol:











:lol:














:lol:


Priceless

 

[trew]

Is it me or does this sound like a bad idea?

Oh it seems it is only a bad idea if it is regular people getting relief from debts they cannot pay.

When the US government came up with TARP to buy 700 billion of bad loans from the banks and effectively write them off, that was obviously a good thing because the banks were the ones getting the relief.

[/sarcasm]