"I am furious about the continuous and covert robbery of the American worker by the banks. I worked in the debt negotiation industry for a few years and daily heard the heart-rending stories of people who had used credit cards but then fell on hard times. The hard times we were able to use as acceptable negotiating tools to reduce credit card debt was loss of job, divorce, serious illness.

"Folks had to stop paying on the debt to get the credit card companies to agree to settlements. Most were terrified of ruining their credit ratings and were so brainwashed on this point that they did not realize that they had no credit, could not borrow another dime and would spend the next 30 years paying back the card companies 5x what their purchases actually cost to satisfy the penalties imposed.

"Time after time callers told me that they were being harassed with constant phone calls from hostile creditors who told them that they were bad, that the fact they were hospitalized with terminal cancer or had lost a job or an arm was not their problem and they had better get their bills paid or they would be ruined for life. One collector told the caller's 8 year old son that the parents were very bad and someone would be coming to the house to get money. Their neighbors had been called and told to go tell them to get on the phone with the debt collector.

"Another aspect of the banks collection policies was to raise the interest rates of ALL of an individual's cards up to as much as 35% if they went late on only ONE credit card. On top of this the late fees and over the limit fees rapidly raised the balances till the debt was tripled while the high interest rates were being charged on all cards. On top of the stress of the hardship situation they were now suffering the credit card collectors poured on the hate calls and penalties till in desperation some divorced or became sicker, a few committed suicide.

"Now we are being forced to give our work and money freely to these predators. I think that Americans should just cease paying any tax or bill that gives more power to these greedy, heartless, power grabbers. We should vote from power every government official who fails to take away power from, or lends support to, these cannibals of American workers and who fails to penalize them in the way they deserve.

"We owe no debt to people whose usurious practices have somehow been turned into a failed financial system. I suspect that they have no debt but are making one more grab at whatever their slaves (us) have left to give them. We need government for the people, by the people and nothing less."

[Comment by Trish H. on 11/25/08. Which sums up the situation so nicely, I'm posting it as it's own article. --MJ]