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Occupy Activists Try to Restore Our Faith in ‘Collective Power’ by Wiping $3.9M of Student Loan Debt
Strike Debt activists at the Occupy Wall Street S17 Anniversary Concert in Foley Square in 2012. Steve Rhodes (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Strike Debt movement, which has its roots in Occupy Wall Street, bought and “abolished” a portfolio that included the student loan debts of 2,700 students who had attended the privately run Everest College. Let’s just say Truthdigger Francisco “Papas Fritas” Tapia, the Chilean activist who famously burned $500 million worth of Universidad del Mar students’ “debt papers,” would be proud.
The Guardian:
To inspire Americans with student debt to unionize, the Rolling Jubilee Fund, a project of Strike Debt, has purchased and abolished a portfolio of private student loans issued to Everest students.
Strike Debt is also launching a new initiative – The Debt Collective, which will “create a platform for organization, advocacy and resistance by debtors”.
“Solutions are not going to happen if we just wait for Congress to do it,” says Thomas Gokey, one of the organizers. “We need a social movement. We need debtors to unite to exert collective power.”…In the vast scheme of things, $3.8m is barely a drop in the bucket as the student debt owed by Americans has now surpassed $1tn.
The gesture, however, is meant to be symbolic as it proves that debt can be conquered – and at a discount. Rolling Jubilee bought the $3.8m worth of student loans for a total of $106,709.48 in cash. That’s about 3¢ for $1 of student debt.
—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata
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Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/occupy_activists_try_to_restore_collective_power_wipe_student_debt_20140918/
