Jul 1, 2023
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Campaigners criticise ‘new form of colonialism’, where countries in the global south are forced to invest in fossil fuel projects to repay d
The pressure to repay debts is forcing poor nations to continue investing in fossil fuel projects to make their repayments on what are usually loans from richer nations and financial institutions, according to new analysis from the anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners in affected countries. The group is calling for creditors to cancel all debts for countries facing crisis – and especially those linked to fossil fuel projects. “High debt levels are a major barrier to phasing out fossil fuels for many global south countries,” said Tess Woolfenden, a senior policy officer at Debt Justice. “Many countries are trapped exploiting fossil fuels to generate revenue to repay debt while, at the same time, fossil fuel projects often do not generate the revenues expected and can leave countries further indebted than when they started. This toxic trap must end.” According to the report, the debt owed by global south countries has increased by 150% since 2011 and 54 countries are in a debt crisis, having to spend five times more on repayments than on addressing the climate crisis.
🔮 THE FUTURE OF STUDENT DEBT: DYSTOPIA OR REVOLUTION?
What happens next depends on what WE do next ✊
THE CURRENT MOMENT: A CROSSROADS
🎯 WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW:
42.7 million Americans trapped in student debt
$1.78 trillion total debt and growing
Political system designed to protect lenders
Legal system that makes escape impossible
But also: Growing awareness and resistance
⚡ THE AWAKENING:
Gen Z and Millennials understand the scam
Cross-racial coalitions forming around debt relief
Political pressure forcing policy responses
Corporate resistance shows we're threatening their profits
SCENARIO 1: THE DYSTOPIAN TIMELINE 💀
If We Do Nothing:
2025-2030:
Debt reaches $2.5 trillion as more students borrow
Default rates spike during next recession
Wage garnishment becomes normal for entire generation
Private loan expansion as federal programs get cut
Intergenerational poverty as parents and children both trapped
2030-2040:
Social Security garnishment affects millions of retirees
Housing crisis deepens as young people can't buy homes
Birth rates plummet as debt makes families unaffordable
Brain drain accelerates as educated Americans emigrate
Economic stagnation from reduced consumer spending
2040+:
Permanent debtor class of educated Americans
Hereditary debt as family poverty perpetuates
Educational apartheid where only rich kids can afford college
Social unrest as economic mobility disappears completely
SCENARIO 2: THE REVOLUTIONARY TIMELINE 🔥
If We Fight Back:
2025-2030:
Mass debt strike forces government action
Electoral pressure delivers progressive majorities
Comprehensive debt cancellation through legislative action
Free public college prevents future debt accumulation
Banking reform eliminates predatory lending
2030-2040:
Economic boom as young people spend instead of servicing debt
Innovation surge as people can afford career risks
Housing recovery as millennials/Gen Z enter market
Family formation increases as finances stabilize
Wealth gap narrows as education creates actual mobility
2040+:
Education as public good like K-12 schooling
Meritocracy restoration where talent matters more than wealth
Generational justice achieved through systematic reform
Economic democracy where education doesn't create debt bondage
THE INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
🌍 HOW OTHER COUNTRIES DO IT:
Germany:
Public universities: €0-500/semester tuition
Living stipends: Government pays students to attend
Result: Highly educated workforce, strong economy, no debt crisis
France:
Public university tuition: €170-380/year for EU students
Quality education: World-class institutions
Student support: Housing assistance, meal subsidies
Nordic Countries:
Free tuition: Even for international students
Living allowances: Students get paid to study
Economic outcomes: Highest social mobility in world
🇺🇸 AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM:
Most expensive higher education in developed world
Highest student debt levels globally
Lowest social mobility among peer nations
Richest country with most educated population living in debt
THE CORPORATE RESISTANCE:
💰 WHY THEY'LL FIGHT US:
Loan Servicers:
$1.8 billion annually in government contracts at risk
Stock prices tied to debt collection volume
Executive compensation based on revenue from our misery
Private Lenders:
15% profit margins on student loans vs 3% on mortgages
Guaranteed collection through bankruptcy protection
Political influence through campaign contributions
Colleges/Universities:
Tuition revenue depends on easy loan money
Administrative bloat funded by ever-increasing costs
Endowment growth prioritized over affordability
🎭 THEIR TACTICS:
Divide and conquer: "Forgiveness unfair to responsible borrowers"
Victim blaming: "Personal responsibility" messaging
Legal warfare: Endless court challenges to relief
Political capture: Lobbying, campaign contributions, revolving door
WHAT WE CAN DO: THE RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK
🗳️ ELECTORAL POLITICS:
Primary Elections:
Vote in primaries where student debt is a litmus test
Support candidates who pledge comprehensive relief
Reject incrementalism - demand full debt cancellation
Single-issue voting until problem is solved
General Elections:
Youth turnout is everything - they need our votes
Down-ballot races matter - state AGs can challenge predatory lending
Ballot initiatives on education funding where possible
Cross-generational organizing - connect with affected parents
🚫 DIRECT ACTION:
Debt Strikes:
Collective refusal to pay until demands met
Safety in numbers - individual strikes fail, mass strikes succeed
Strategic timing - coordinate with election cycles
Media attention - make debt strike a national story
Corporate Targeting:
Boycott loan servicers and their parent companies
Shareholder activism at Navient, Nelnet, etc.
Protest at headquarters and executive homes
Disrupt business operations through legal demonstrations
Educational Disruption:
Campus organizing against tuition increases
Alumni pressure on university endowment policies
Trustee accountability - challenge board members
Graduation protests to highlight debt burden
💡 POLICY SOLUTIONS WE NEED:
Immediate Relief:
✅ Full debt cancellation - not just $10k or $50k, ALL of it
✅ Interest rate elimination - 0% on all existing loans
✅ Bankruptcy restoration - allow discharge like any debt
✅ Garnishment prohibition - end wage and benefit seizure
Systemic Reform:
✅ Free public college - funded like K-12 education
✅ Tuition caps for private schools receiving federal aid
✅ Endowment taxes on wealthy universities hoarding money
✅ Living stipends for students from working families
Financial Justice:
✅ Banking regulation - end predatory student lending
✅ Corporate accountability - criminal charges for loan fraud
✅ Reparative justice - extra relief for targeted communities
✅ Wealth taxes to fund education as public good
THE GENERATIONAL MISSION:
👥 WHO WE'RE FIGHTING FOR:
Current Borrowers:
Immediate relief from crushing debt burden
Mental health recovery from financial trauma
Life restoration - marriage, family, homeownership possible again
Career freedom to pursue passion over profit
Future Students:
Debt-free education as fundamental right
Merit-based opportunities not wealth-based selection
Innovation unleashed when smart kids can afford college
Economic mobility through education not debt
Society Overall:
Economic growth from increased consumer spending
Innovation boom from risk-taking ability
Social justice through equal educational access
Democracy strengthened by educated, non-indebted citizenry
THE MOVEMENT WE'RE BUILDING:
🔥 SIGNS OF HOPE:
Political Momentum:
Student debt now major campaign issue
Progressive candidates winning with debt relief platforms
Mainstream Democrats moving left on issue
Even some Republicans acknowledge crisis
Cultural Shift:
Shame reduction - debt seen as systemic not personal
Collective action replacing individual suffering
Cross-class solidarity as middle class joins working class
Intergenerational alliance between parents and children
Economic Pressure:
Housing market stagnation forcing policy attention
Consumer spending patterns showing debt impact
Labor market effects as workers demand wage premiums
Retirement crisis looming from garnished Social Security
YOUR ROLE IN THE REVOLUTION:
🎯 IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
Political:
Register to vote and vote in EVERY election
Primary challenge politicians who won't commit to full relief
Call representatives monthly about student debt
Join local political organizations with debt relief platforms
Economic:
Refuse to pay private loans if safe to do so
Document abuse by loan servicers for legal action
Support mutual aid for struggling borrowers
Divest from companies profiting from student debt
Social:
Share your story to reduce shame and build solidarity
Educate others about how the system actually works
Support affected friends with practical help
Challenge victim-blaming narratives wherever you see them
THE FINAL TRUTH:
This isn't about individual financial responsibility - it's about collective liberation.
💪 WE HAVE THE POWER:
42.7 million borrowers = massive voting bloc
Intergenerational impact = even larger coalition
Economic leverage = our labor and consumption matter
Moral authority = we're fighting for justice, they're fighting for profit
🔥 THEY HAVE THE SYSTEM:
But systems can be changed
When enough people refuse to participate
When voting becomes organized resistance
When silence becomes solidarity
THE CHOICE IS OURS:
Will we accept permanent debt bondage as the price of education?
Or will we demand that in the richest country in human history, learning shouldn't require a lifetime of financial servitude?
The student debt crisis ends when we decide it ends.
Not when politicians allow it. Not when corporations agree. Not when the system fixes itself.
When WE decide we've had enough.
🔥 THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW. 🔥
Education should unlock human potential, not lock people in debt. We have the power to make that a reality - we just have to use it. ✊
GOTO FIRST POST -> CLICK HERE
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[Originally posted April 27, 2022]
Biden has signaled that he may be open to considering the idea of canceling some student loan debt, and Republicans on twitter are freaking out like he just declared himself Chairman and is coming to kill all the capitalists.
They're bending over backwards to say that canceling student loan debt is a bad thing. They say that only idiots and liberals have debts, that it's entirely their fault and the debt is deserved, that they shouldn't have to foot the bill for other people going to college, but they fundamentally misunderstand how anything works. Conservative kids go to school too, you know. Republicans aren't all high school drop outs. They have debts, and stand to gain from this just as much as anyone else. The media is saying that canceling debts would give another break to rich people, but rich people don't have student loan debts because they can afford to pay out of pocket. Everyone I know who has debt is dirt poor, so the idea that debt relief is a scam to bail out irresponsible rich kids is bullshit.
And speaking of bailouts, people seem to forget that you don't get to pick and choose what your tax dollars pay for; you don't want to pay for someone else's student loan debts, but you already have to pay for every corporate bailout and subsidy. Every time some trillion dollar company gets a tax break, you foot the bill. Trickle down economics has been funneling money from the bottom to the top for forty years; reverse Robin Hood, the rich steal from the poor. Your tax dollars pad executive pockets, and you're mad that poor people might start to suffer less? I'm sorry if you're a libertarian who thinks all tax is theft, but that's how society works! You pay taxes, you get benefits; the more you pay in taxes, the less you pay to private businesses.
Well, in most countries.
In the United States you pay higher taxes and get nothing in return; no healthcare, no public utilities, no transit, nada. We're so used to going without that as soon as anyone proposes sensible reforms, all the right-wingers shit their pants in fear and calls it communism. Other countries have nice things, so why can't we? If we pay a little bit more in taxes, we pay a LOT LESS in education and healthcare. It's an algebra problem; < or >, which side is bigger? If everyone pools their resources, people can take what they need when they need it, so nobody has to go broke; if you're unwilling to help your community, your statesmen, your countrymen, then you don't deserve the benefits either.
There's an anti-intelectual talking point that college is exclusively for liberal elites, or that it's a leftist snowflake factory that turns hard working red blooded Americans into woke gender-neutral pansies; if that's the case, then why do any Republican politicians go to college? If college is brainwashing, then why are so many senators Ivy League graduates? If going to college changes you and makes you believe something you don't believe, then how did any of them make it out of there even more conservative than before? If you say that they were strong willed and able to reject the brainwashing, then you're admitting that brainwashing doesn't work; and if you counter by saying that it does work but only on weak minded fools and that Republicans are just better at ignoring it, then you're calling yourself a weak minded fool because you're afraid you'd succumb to it! Why do you hold your leaders to a higher standard than yourself? Why do you keep making exceptions for them? "This is a bad thing, unless they do it, then it's okay!" Why do you think they're better than you?
Education isn't a taboo.
Intelligence is not a vice.
Ignorance is not a virtue.
College should be accessible to everyone who wants to attend, and it shouldn't be seen as an indoctrination machine because it very clearly isn't. Student loan debt cancelation isn't some unearned reward for leftists. It isn't bribery ahead of the midterms. It isn't a punishment for uneducated people to pick up the slack. It is the leveling of a playing field that has been lopsided for too long. If good jobs require degrees, then everybody should be able to get a degree without 5 or 6 figures of debt weighing them down. That's a bullshit catch-22; you need to pay a ton of money for the chance to earn more money. Debt cancelation eliminates that hurdle. If you think that you should only go to college if you can afford it outright, then you're saying that only rich elites deserve good jobs; which is it? Do you hate rich elites, or do you want them in charge of everything? Pick a lane, and stay in it!
TLDR: student loan relief benefits everyone at the bottom, regardless of ideology. They would rather have us fight a culture war against one another than unite to fight a class war against them.
Here's something to show to all the "Christians" who are against canceling student debt💕
On Wednesday, Congress passed one of the most sweeping relief programs for minority farmers in the nation’s history.
The bill allocates $4 billion for the program because the Congressional Budget Office estimates that’s how much it will cost to pay off USDA loans to minority farmers, plus 20 percent. According to The Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund, there are currently “over 17,000 Black legacy farmers [who] are delinquent on their loans to USDA ranging from 5 to 30 years.”
While it’s easy to draw a line from the Pigford settlements to the debt-forgiveness bill, the policy seeks to address even older wounds. The nation is confronting systemic racism that dates back to its founding and is deeply rooted in the history of American agriculture.
