Occupy Movement's Offshoot Set to Cancel Millions In Debt

The Occupy Movement’s latest offshoot, Strike Debt, is working to cancel millions of dollars in debt.

Strike Debt emerged from a series of Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Theory open assemblies that began in May 2012 in NYC. According to their Facebook page, they are”spreading the word that debt is a global system of domination and exploitation of the 99% by the 1%. Strike Debt links diverse individuals and communities to resist the debt system”.

“Our initiatives include publishing The Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual, hosting teach-ins and debt assemblies, supporting the Occupy Student Debt Campaign‘s pledge of student debt refusal, and launching the Rolling Jubilee, a mutual aid project in which donors buy debt at steeply discounted prices and then abolish it. We are also planning creative direct actions across the country, ranging from symbolic debt burnings to targeted shutdowns of predatory lenders of all kinds.”

What they do is purchase debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of attempting to collect that debt, they abolish it. As per their website,

“We cannot buy specific individuals’ debt—instead, we help liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. We kicked off this effort on November 15 with The People’s Bailout, a variety show and telethon in NYC. All proceeds will go directly to buying people’s debt and cancelling it.”

Early today, Chris Hayes spoke with Amin Husain, editor of Tidal Magazine; Sarah Ludwig, co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Project; and Doug Henwood, editor of Left Business Review to discuss Strike Debt.

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Occupy Movement’s Offshoot Set to Cancel Millions In Debt