Forgiving All Debt Is a Step in the Wrong Direction

“In financial markets, the basic unit of cost is risk.”

In a recent article for this publication, Andrew Joseph Pegoda writes that “individuals with the very least amount of capital are, however, often indebted to pawnshops, to payday loan businesses, and to other wealthy predators of the Imperialist White Supremacist Capitalist (Heteronormative Ableist Theistic) Patriarchy.” When I come across someone attributing the wrongs of the world to the “Imperialist White Supremacist Capitalist (Heteronormative Ableist Theistic) Patriarchy,” I usually yawn at the illusory, Manichean construct and move on. Unfortunately, however, I come across such constructs more and more often. It has become like reading and studying Marx. Why waste so much time taking seriously what should not be taken seriously (full disclosure: I am no fan of Karl Marx)? Well, because nowadays, it seems so many people do.

Pegoda expresses support for this tweet: “A lot of poor people don’t have student loans…they have payday loans and medical debt, and an inflated car payment. They deserve to have their debt erased just like college grads.” He writes that “forgiving only student loan debt is classist. Other forms of debt cause active harm, too. Simply, all debt should be forgiven to help foster not just economic prosperity but basic wellness.”

My response: simply, no.

First, like Pegoda, I will provide a note of positionality because he might want to know. One poignant memory in my childhood was the day my mother sadly and regretfully informed me that she had to withdraw the $400 I had saved up in my bank account from paper route savings. The reason? My parents did not have enough to pay the rent that month. Eviction was on the table.