Business Opportunities Weblog

Rolling Jubilee of Debt

By on May 12, 2013 in Ideas

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Rolling Jubilee is a non-profit that takes donations to buy debt for pennies on the dollar, and then abolishes it.

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. The Rolling Jubilee intervenes by buying debt, keeping it out of the hands of collectors, and then abolishing it. We’re going into this market not to make a profit but to help each other out and highlight how the predatory debt system affects our families and communities. Think of it as a bailout of the 99% by the 99%.

This is definitely an interesting idea.

I wonder if you could figure out a way to identify people’s specific debts and then buy those and then resell them to the original owners for a discount?

For example, if you bought something for $1, could someone else buy that debt for $0.01 and then resell it to you for $0.50?

Where would it stop? Could someone else buy that $0.50 of debt for half a cent and then resell it back to you for $0.25?

Would the whole system come tumbling down?

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Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

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  • djs111

    No, debt is sold in blocks or portfolios; your idea is a good one, though! I think debt can be categorized by type and then perhaps by zip code. I wonder if the IRS has rules about that. Plus, I am not sure that forgiving a debt can be different than settling a debt – at present, if you settle a debt for less, then the difference is taxed as income.
    Also, at present, student loans are backed by the government or something like that, and I don’t think they can be forgiven easily. I believe medical and credit card debt can be forgiven, not sure about mortgage debt.
    There is a good explanation at the link.

  • Cashstacker

    What’s the difference between someone “reselling” me my $1.00 debt for .50, and a collector a settling for .50?

    Semantics.

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