why “debt riot”
we’ve been promised relief—from student loans, from inflation, from the rising cost of living, from corporate greed. those promises have been consistently broken. it’s time to take matters into our own hands.
there is an ancient concept of a “debt jubilee,” a tradition of forgiving debts. but life isn’t a fucking party right now. we need a riot.
debt riot is a non-profit debt forgiveness organization that buys portfolios of predatory debts—today, we’re focused on debt related to healthcare, education, or quality of life (like parking tickets). next? we’ll start paying off predatory mortgages. payday loans. high-interest credit cards.
debt is oppression in action and it affects the most vulnerable communities the most.
the single greatest economic stimulant is to unburden the american people from the crippling amounts of debt they hold from just trying to survive in america. if 80% of americans that have debt no longer had it—what kind of future would that unlock?
1/4 people in a vulnerable group live in poverty and also carry debt
disabled folks, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community faces disproportionate challenges with predatory debt, including higher rates of poverty, economic insecurity, and reliance on high-cost credit, often due to discrimination and lack of access to mainstream financial services. they often carry higher debt loads, have less access to credit, and less access to familial wealth.
poverty levels by community
41% of americans have medical debt. 24% can’t afford those bills.
a huge percentage of americans have incurred debt due to healthcare costs, and the number of households impacted has been rising steadily since the Covid 19 crisis. if you have healthcare debt, you are more more likely to be vulnerable to other types of financial instability, such as carrying credit card debt, living paycheck to paycheck, or to use predatory payday loans.
healthcare debt vs no healthcare debt
ongoing costs are the primary reason people take a payday loan
for Millennials, the generation born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z, born in 1997 or later, these ongoing expenses include student loan payments and everyday transportation costs (cite: Pew Research)
why folks take payday loans
the fine print.
unfortunately, we can’t find and forgive specific individuals’ debts, today. we are exploring options for a foundation focused on providing debt forgiveness scholarships to students and sufferers of the healthcare debt crisis.
