Student Debt Crisis - Consumers Vs Citizens

The crushing  tyranny of student debt in North America is crippling. It is leaving young people with little hope for a future, that includes purchasing a home, or the likelihood of having a stable relationship, that might mean having a family, which statistically will be more difficult, considering the high rate of divorce due to to financial conflict.

Citizens are now referred to as consumers, as are students. Citizens are constantly bombarded with the idea that credit is a good thing. Credit equals debt, and debt is a bad thing. It's hard to see where this crisis will end.

When my grandparents were alive, you paid with cash, never credit. If you didn't have the cash, you didn't buy it. And if something was on sale, and you didn't have the cash it wasn't a bargain.
Times have changed, and so have our ideas about debt, not for the better.
  

Brittany Powell - Artist

Here's a great multimedia project called the Debt Project, by artist Brittany M. Powell. It is both poignant, and powerful.

Debt is an overwhelming, crushing burden all too many of us are carrying, both in the United States and in Canada. What strikes me the most is the amount of people portrayed in this project are highly educated, artists, musicians, and or in the humane service field.

Much of the money owing is attributed to high levels of student debt, taxes, the economy, medical expenses, bad mortgages and the economic crash of 2008.

It really makes one seriously wonder when, how, and where this debt is all going to end. Many of us can only dream of being debt free, but it appears to be an never ending up hill battle. This isn't really a lofty dream in my opinion.

I commend Brittany M. Powell for bringing the discussion around debt, out of the shadows. Hopefully this project will begin an important and necessary dialogue to enable change in how our society views debt.

There is a pervasive attitude toward money in our culture. Credit is the word of the day, as if this is a good thing, when in actual fact, the real meaning of the word is debt and this is not a good thing.

My grandparents and my parents lived through the depression. If you didn't have cash to buy something that appeared to be was a bargain, well it wasn't a bargain, if you didn't have the cash, and you didn't get it.

Today's reality is, most are credit rich, and cash poor.