![]() ![]() ![]() The Court: I'm going to order you pay twenty-five dollars ($25.00) a month until this is paid off. I've got to pay my rent and my lights and my gas. The Court: I'm going to be an old woman before this is ever paid off. So what kind of payments can you make to pay this down? Glenn at the Sheriff's Department until you find a way that, yes, you can. And I'm not going to accept I cannot, and if the next words out of your mouth are I cannot, Mr. You're going to tell me how you're going to go about doing that. Alright, you're not hearing me for some reason. The Court: For some reason we're not communicating. The Court: So we're here today for you to explain what you're going to do to pay this off. In one case Herman Button, who owed $1,800 to a former landlord but had no assets or income beyond social security, was summoned to court where a moronic judge threatened him with contempt and imprisonment if he did not pay. However, one judge (at least) in Southern Indiana, decided that debtors' prison needed a comeback. These days, creditors go after any assets you have, and if you have none, they write off the debt and promise themselves to check your credit record more carefully next time around. Because authorities refused to pay for food and clothing( as they did for murderers and robbers), debtors languished in deplorable conditions for years. Before that, debtors who had no assets could be swept into prison even if they owed only pennies. After all, imprisonment for debt (with some exceptions for fraud and non-payment of alimony and child support) hasn't been around in this country since the 1800s. In any case, I pictured myself huddled near a gas drum fire shivering in a ragged coat desperate for a cup of coffee.īut, horrible as that nightmare was, I never pictured myself going to prison for failure to pay MasterCard or Visa. (I completely forgot about my savings, but that's what happens to logic in the first terrifying moments after a layoff.) My only consolation was that without the extra funds to underwrite my snack habit, I might lose weight. Then I would lose my house and all my possessions and have to live under a freeway. After I exhausted my severance (which would take about 15 minutes), I would be unable to pay my bills, including my health insurance. When I was laid off last December, my thoughts traveled like a bullet train to a dark future. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |