#debt strike

We are so very almost done with this move! The husband and I are formally into our new home, and we've only got a few scraps left to get shifted over here, but the wifi doesn't connect for four more days. No wifi means no printer at home, and I won't have access to one until tomorrow. That's not stopping me, though. The March issue of Flat Broke is now LIVE!

In this issue, we discuss Circle of Hope Church, who organized teams to "Annihilate" bad credit card debt by sharing finances and tackling the problem as a unified front. We also talk about guerrilla gardening, a totally illegal thing that you should never ever do no matter how easy it is to grow free food for your community. 😉 There's also a recipe for yogurt, because why pay stupid amounts of money for a crappy store product when you can make it on your counter for damn near free?

If you download the free PDF set, you get a copy that's made for reading on basically whatever device you like. You can get that here: https://ko-fi.com/s/316b1b7386

If you want to help support this zine so that I'm not paying for the paper and ink all by myself, you can order a physical copy to be shipped to you for $3: https://ko-fi.com/s/4318fce8c2

You're also always welcome to browse my Ko-Fi store for other zines, as well as pinback buttons: https://ko-fi.com/squeesquaredstudios/shop

Thank you for all of the support you've shown us! I'm gonna keep this zine going for as long as I can. Spread the post as far and wide as you like, and let's support everyone who's as broke as we are!

What happens next depends on what WE do next ✊

THE CURRENT MOMENT: A CROSSROADS

🎯 WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW:

42.7 million Americans trapped in student debt

$1.78 trillion total debt and growing

Political system designed to protect lenders

Legal system that makes escape impossible

But also: Growing awareness and resistance

⚡ THE AWAKENING:

Gen Z and Millennials understand the scam

Cross-racial coalitions forming around debt relief

Political pressure forcing policy responses

Corporate resistance shows we're threatening their profits

SCENARIO 1: THE DYSTOPIAN TIMELINE 💀

If We Do Nothing:

2025-2030:

Debt reaches $2.5 trillion as more students borrow

Default rates spike during next recession

Wage garnishment becomes normal for entire generation

Private loan expansion as federal programs get cut

Intergenerational poverty as parents and children both trapped

2030-2040:

Social Security garnishment affects millions of retirees

Housing crisis deepens as young people can't buy homes

Birth rates plummet as debt makes families unaffordable

Brain drain accelerates as educated Americans emigrate

Economic stagnation from reduced consumer spending

2040+:

Permanent debtor class of educated Americans

Hereditary debt as family poverty perpetuates

Educational apartheid where only rich kids can afford college

Social unrest as economic mobility disappears completely

SCENARIO 2: THE REVOLUTIONARY TIMELINE 🔥

If We Fight Back:

2025-2030:

Mass debt strike forces government action

Electoral pressure delivers progressive majorities

Comprehensive debt cancellation through legislative action

Free public college prevents future debt accumulation

Banking reform eliminates predatory lending

2030-2040:

Economic boom as young people spend instead of servicing debt

Innovation surge as people can afford career risks

Housing recovery as millennials/Gen Z enter market

Family formation increases as finances stabilize

Wealth gap narrows as education creates actual mobility

2040+:

Education as public good like K-12 schooling

Meritocracy restoration where talent matters more than wealth

Generational justice achieved through systematic reform

Economic democracy where education doesn't create debt bondage

THE INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:

🌍 HOW OTHER COUNTRIES DO IT:

Germany:

Public universities: €0-500/semester tuition

Living stipends: Government pays students to attend

Result: Highly educated workforce, strong economy, no debt crisis

France:

Public university tuition: €170-380/year for EU students

Quality education: World-class institutions

Student support: Housing assistance, meal subsidies

Nordic Countries:

Free tuition: Even for international students

Living allowances: Students get paid to study

Economic outcomes: Highest social mobility in world

🇺🇸 AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM:

Most expensive higher education in developed world

Highest student debt levels globally

Lowest social mobility among peer nations

Richest country with most educated population living in debt

THE CORPORATE RESISTANCE:

💰 WHY THEY'LL FIGHT US:

Loan Servicers:

$1.8 billion annually in government contracts at risk

Stock prices tied to debt collection volume

Executive compensation based on revenue from our misery

Private Lenders:

15% profit margins on student loans vs 3% on mortgages

Guaranteed collection through bankruptcy protection

Political influence through campaign contributions

Colleges/Universities:

Tuition revenue depends on easy loan money

Administrative bloat funded by ever-increasing costs

Endowment growth prioritized over affordability

🎭 THEIR TACTICS:

Divide and conquer: "Forgiveness unfair to responsible borrowers"

Victim blaming: "Personal responsibility" messaging

Legal warfare: Endless court challenges to relief

Political capture: Lobbying, campaign contributions, revolving door

WHAT WE CAN DO: THE RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK

🗳️ ELECTORAL POLITICS:

Primary Elections:

Vote in primaries where student debt is a litmus test

Support candidates who pledge comprehensive relief

Reject incrementalism - demand full debt cancellation

Single-issue voting until problem is solved

General Elections:

Youth turnout is everything - they need our votes

Down-ballot races matter - state AGs can challenge predatory lending

Ballot initiatives on education funding where possible

Cross-generational organizing - connect with affected parents

🚫 DIRECT ACTION:

Debt Strikes:

Collective refusal to pay until demands met

Safety in numbers - individual strikes fail, mass strikes succeed

Strategic timing - coordinate with election cycles

Media attention - make debt strike a national story

Corporate Targeting:

Boycott loan servicers and their parent companies

Shareholder activism at Navient, Nelnet, etc.

Protest at headquarters and executive homes

Disrupt business operations through legal demonstrations

Educational Disruption:

Campus organizing against tuition increases

Alumni pressure on university endowment policies

Trustee accountability - challenge board members

Graduation protests to highlight debt burden

💡 POLICY SOLUTIONS WE NEED:

Immediate Relief:

✅ Full debt cancellation - not just $10k or $50k, ALL of it

✅ Interest rate elimination - 0% on all existing loans

✅ Bankruptcy restoration - allow discharge like any debt

✅ Garnishment prohibition - end wage and benefit seizure

Systemic Reform:

✅ Free public college - funded like K-12 education

✅ Tuition caps for private schools receiving federal aid

✅ Endowment taxes on wealthy universities hoarding money

✅ Living stipends for students from working families

Financial Justice:

✅ Banking regulation - end predatory student lending

✅ Corporate accountability - criminal charges for loan fraud

✅ Reparative justice - extra relief for targeted communities

✅ Wealth taxes to fund education as public good

THE GENERATIONAL MISSION:

👥 WHO WE'RE FIGHTING FOR:

Current Borrowers:

Immediate relief from crushing debt burden

Mental health recovery from financial trauma

Life restoration - marriage, family, homeownership possible again

Career freedom to pursue passion over profit

Future Students:

Debt-free education as fundamental right

Merit-based opportunities not wealth-based selection

Innovation unleashed when smart kids can afford college

Economic mobility through education not debt

Society Overall:

Economic growth from increased consumer spending

Innovation boom from risk-taking ability

Social justice through equal educational access

Democracy strengthened by educated, non-indebted citizenry

THE MOVEMENT WE'RE BUILDING:

🔥 SIGNS OF HOPE:

Political Momentum:

Student debt now major campaign issue

Progressive candidates winning with debt relief platforms

Mainstream Democrats moving left on issue

Even some Republicans acknowledge crisis

Cultural Shift:

Shame reduction - debt seen as systemic not personal

Collective action replacing individual suffering

Cross-class solidarity as middle class joins working class

Intergenerational alliance between parents and children

Economic Pressure:

Housing market stagnation forcing policy attention

Consumer spending patterns showing debt impact

Labor market effects as workers demand wage premiums

Retirement crisis looming from garnished Social Security

YOUR ROLE IN THE REVOLUTION:

🎯 IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:

Political:

Register to vote and vote in EVERY election

Primary challenge politicians who won't commit to full relief

Call representatives monthly about student debt

Join local political organizations with debt relief platforms

Economic:

Refuse to pay private loans if safe to do so

Document abuse by loan servicers for legal action

Support mutual aid for struggling borrowers

Divest from companies profiting from student debt

Social:

Share your story to reduce shame and build solidarity

Educate others about how the system actually works

Support affected friends with practical help

Challenge victim-blaming narratives wherever you see them

THE FINAL TRUTH:

This isn't about individual financial responsibility - it's about collective liberation.

💪 WE HAVE THE POWER:

42.7 million borrowers = massive voting bloc

Intergenerational impact = even larger coalition

Economic leverage = our labor and consumption matter

Moral authority = we're fighting for justice, they're fighting for profit

🔥 THEY HAVE THE SYSTEM:

But systems can be changed

When enough people refuse to participate

When voting becomes organized resistance

When silence becomes solidarity

THE CHOICE IS OURS:

Will we accept permanent debt bondage as the price of education?

Or will we demand that in the richest country in human history, learning shouldn't require a lifetime of financial servitude?

The student debt crisis ends when we decide it ends.

Not when politicians allow it. Not when corporations agree. Not when the system fixes itself.

When WE decide we've had enough.

🔥 THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW. 🔥

Education should unlock human potential, not lock people in debt. We have the power to make that a reality - we just have to use it. ✊

Student Debt and affirmative action

"The average amount borrowed by an undergraduate in the most recent school year was $29,000, and the national debt burden comes in at a staggering $1.6 trillion, a number that feels impossible to fathom on its own. It’s higher than the nationwide total of credit card debt or car loans and second only to mortgages.

For the millions of former students struggling to make their monthly payments, debt was sold to us as the cost of a better life. And its repayment, we would later learn, was the cost of any kind of life at all. I don’t even really read the emails from my creditors anymore, since I know that the money is scheduled to come straight out of my account. My debt feels permanent in this way, unmovable.

https://theintercept.com/2021/12/09/cancel-debt-jubilee/

Video by Molly Crabapple, Kim Boekbinder, Jim Batt

Covering thousands of years in just under seven minutes, “Your Debt Is Someone Else’s Asset” ends with a rousing vision of the future: a world after a jubilee, an ancient term for the abolition of debts and rebalancing of power between the rich and the poor.

A collaboration between The Intercept; artist Molly Crabapple and her creative partners at Sharp As Knives productions; and writer Astra Taylor, this short film invites us to understand our debt in new ways. Our monthly payments are a source of profit, a form of wealth transfer from struggling borrowers to the well-to-do. These profits are a source of power; debt is never just about money. In the United States, debt has long been used as a form of social control and a tool of white supremacy.