Hugh,
I’m looking for some justification of some prepper advice I’ve seen. More than a few articles recommend getting out of debt now before SHTF. I say, “Why?”. In the event of TEOTWAWKI the banks will be shut down anyway. Who’s going to process the repo paperwork? Who’s going to come enforce the repo? The local Sheriff is going to have more important things on his plate. That is assuming that he’s even still performing the duties of LEO. On top of that, I’d be willing to bet that when things started to get “back to normal” past debts will be forgiven in the interest of rebuilding the basic organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. Just some thoughts… – D
HJL’s Reply:
You shouldn’t need any more advice than “It’s the right thing to do”. Getting out of debt should be your goal no matter what. Remember the debtor is basically a slave to the banker. It is the bankers who are pulling the strings on the world economies today. Do you really think that they’ll let anyone off the hook? The standard thinking in the case of hyperinflation is that your debt gets gradually smaller. But history doesn’t bear that out. TPTB have a tendency to trash the current hyperinflated currency, introduce a new currency, and then re-evaluate all debt in the new currency, even if it’s just as simple as dropping a zero from the currency.
The Euro is currently seeing this issue as the old national debts were re-evaluated in the new Euro and you now have the massive sovereign defaults that are currently in progress. Any re-evaluation of debt in the new currency will make matters worse for the debtors because you can bet the banksters will manipulate it to their favor. India is a good example, as they continue their war on cash. Argentina is also an excellent example of how it works.
If the economy crashes to the point where the big banks don’t care about the little guys anymore, you can still bet that there will be a local banker who will not let it slide. Such is the beginning of a feudal system. It would be possible to pay your debt off at a much reduced rate if you have the liquid assets on hand to do so, but the timing window would be short. The middle class and the poor will take the hardest financial hit.
My grand father said that they took his gold at $20 an ounce, closed the bank and he could not withdraw his money, but all of his debts were collected by the bank. He stated that he knew of many people who lost farms, houses, etc to fore closure, that had the money in the bank to pay for the debt, but were unable to access the funds. He stated that in 1933 I lost all my money , but all my debts were good. A similar thing happened during the Savings and Loan Crisis a few years back. I know of a few small companies and home owners that lost everything when the credit union closed and their loans were “called” and they were unable to refinance the loan. They were fore closed on and never missed a loan payment. As always, the collapse will happen one person at a time, and if you lose your house, job, health, etc, it has happened, you really don’t care about the rest of the world.
Along the same lines my concern is that during such a financial crisis, the local governments will enforce a property tax hike. A hike so high in such a crisis that property owners wouldn’t be able to pay it. Our small homestead with it’s orchard and livestock would be a small jewel to unscrupulous government officials. The property could then be sold to those banksters and other “investors” in the new regime to fund a “local” feudal system. The property tax is an assault on our Rights as freemen.
Look at what was done in Zimbabwe along the same lines
While the notion of poking creditors in the eye is enticing, crossing ones’ fingers and kind of hoping for a total SHTF scenario is a really long shot and has a lot of downside too. More importantly, there are double and triple-redundant backups of debt records, so those will be some of the last to drop and first to be restored.
Consider, however, a local catastrophe such as a wildfire or tornado which has a much higher real-world possibility of occurring. Those debt records aren’t going to be disturbed at all as your worldly possessions are utterly destroyed and then what? If you are mired in debt, you are going to be driven into bankruptcy. If you’re insured and kept good records in a secure manner, you’ll go through a time of trouble but eventually be okay. To my mind, this is the more likely scenario which should be given higher priority.
7.62 NATO poke??
I was going to comment the very same thing.
You simply have to prepare for the most likely disasters/disruptions and work from there. I’m always leery of those who only prep for the end of the world and nothing else. In my experience they tend to make poor decisions concerning their future and that of their families — exactly what Hugh’s reply warns us about.
And don’t forget that mortgages have been bundled together and securitized. These mortgage-backed securities then serve as collateral for other securities. If the mortgages disappear, the debt structure on top of them collapses. The world of debt is all tied together, which makes the entire system vulnerable to anything anywhere. They can’t allow one piece to fail. Aside from HJL’s moral position, which I agree with, it’s not realistic to think they’ll simply allow mortgages and credit card debt to evaporate.
I would like to see an opinion on what might happen to military, state or federal pensions. I am speculating here but instead of complete loss. IMO its more likely to have a reduction of a significant percentage. The worst thieves steal our freedom and our assets with a pen…
Military pensions(health care portions have already been disavowed- despite being clearly part of the contract,upheld by the SupremeCourt),Detroit is the example of a municipal pension(cut 30%,40% or more by court order). States are the tricky part(Illinois and California the worst)they can’t bankrupt yet(no provision in law for that and may take a Constitutional amendment).Illinois has a “no cut” pension clause in its Constitution that will require a amendment or bankruptcy of the State,or general inflation of the fiat. Ken Kiyosaki predicted this in”Rich Dad,Poor Dad” 30+ years ago.
Greg, when the Soviet Union imploded in the early nineties, retired Red Army soldiers kept receiving their pay, but with hyperinflation, it wasn’t worth much. I knew to active duty Ukrainian officers in 1993 who were paid in ruble equivalents, and made about 10,000 rubles a month. Not bad pay in the Ukraine, but with an exchange rate of 5,000 rubles to the dollar, about two bucks a month in the US.
The only thing I am in debt for is my home on which I am paying off at a double rate. Everything else I own outright, including my prepper food supply and the means to support myself if need be.
My question is about taxes. Don’t you think that the government, whatever form it may be, can take what I have at any given moment?
They can try….
and they will succeed. You may defeat the first truckload of guys, you will not defeat the next fifteen. The rule of the gov’t.: what we want you will give.
You all should read the book Bad Paper. It explains debt collection.
I am of the opinion that the inevitable crises rarely unravel as depicted in fictional novels… and when they do arrive, the financially astute are in a position to benefit from the downturn and pick up physical assets at pennies on the dollar. For those that are in debt, will you be in position to benefit from the described situation? The bargains will be had when the debt slaves are forced to sell to keep the monkeys off their back. Hedge your bets based on the probability of an event occurring… and always live within your means.
I concur. Be greedy when everyone is fearful. Be fearful when everyone is greedy. Know the difference between an asset and a liability. Have a large cash reserve.
Getting out of debt is the “right thing to do”, and not getting in debt is the better thing to do. That said, God knew sometimes we can neither avoid debt, not get out of it. So, He made provisions in the Old Testament for the relief of debt. Of course we no longer practice that. That said, in the event of a complete collapse, I really doubt anyone is going to be worrying about paying loans that took place before said collapse. In the event someone does come collecting, I have a feeling the loan will be renegotiated along the lines of “OK, here is a weeks worth of food. We are now square and if you come back again…”.
Rom 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
We are a debtor people and nation and world. How very foolish we are.
And to have an attitude to not repay?
Shame on us.
It’s certainly the right thing to do from a moral standpoint but it also pays huge benefits to your peace of mind and financial bottom line as well. Mrs and I have been living 100% debt free since the year of our Lord 2000. Probably could have done it in 98 or 99 if we’d have been a little more focused. It has been such a blessing not having to worry about paying our bills or having to beg the banker for money or paying a metric crap-ton of interest to the credit card outfits every month. We were amazed at how much more money we had for savings and regular purchases as well as charitable contributions.
Among other things, we paid off a 30-year mortgage in 7 years and the bank’s branch manager literally could not believe it when we went in to make the final payment. He didn’t know how to process it, and had to call the main office to find out how to do it. Then he actually made his wife come in to meet us and hear the story. It was hilarious. Without that mortgage and car loans and credit card interest hanging over our heads, it was considerably easier to save up and pay cash for our dream home outside the city and make investments in land and other things as well. Unless you’re very short-sighted, once you go debt free you won’t ever want to go back to the old habits again.
I cant think of a single example in history of a society collapsing to the point of eliminating personal debt, particularly real estate. But I can think of plenty of examples of people losing their property due to war and Government.. I suppose all a person can do is own it, and keep the property taxes paid up, even in times of turmoil, so as not to give anyone an excuse to focus on you.
With the exception of tax debt unsecured debts can safely be ignored after unemployment. Default on your credit card and they will send you an offer to settle for far less because they are powerless. We spend many times as much in a failed attempt to collect student loans than we actually collect. Secured debts are another animal. Mortgages are easily assignable and they’ll sell them for 10 cents on the dollar to investors who will foreclose before they forgive them (rob from the rich) to stimulate the economy. If one cannot get out of debt then live a double life. If they best one can do is get a cash loan and buy property in trust improving it with credit cards they can vanish there when the money train stops whereas the one who stays out of debt except for a mortgage will lose everything.
Credit card companies will sue now before settling. And if you have no experience with legal process, and thus not equate “complaint” with “lawsuit”, you’re in worse than before. And it becomes a part of your public record. Bankruptcy will not automatically remove it from your record. There may be a window for settlement after CC default, but you’ll probably not have the assets to take advantage. That’s why the default in the first place.
Just my own experience just after the bankruptcy reform law back in 2005.
Do not make the mistake of thinking the universe is fair or cares about whether you owe money or not. If you give anyone the opportunity to take something from you without getting it or building it themselves…my experience is they WILL take it. Maybe unsecured debt is better, maybe the point is that there will be alot of ‘reasons’ to do alot of things in any situation. The less reasons you give someone to make you look like an easy target (morally or physically) the better.
I don’t agree with the statement “It’s the right thing to do.” Those in control of the money (Banks, Credit Cards, etc.) have been robbing the people (us) forever. I work the system, staying completely in debt, and making their money work for me. Been doing it for most of my life. ( Now, 72 years old.) And living pretty well. At the end of the line, I certainly won’t give a darn who gets what. Those who go along (grovel) with the system are always behind the 8-Ball, and truly are slaves to ‘the System’. Ask yourself, “Was Robin Hood really a thief?”.
In this world, there are Sheep and there are Wolves. And, there are those that are neither, just watching from the sidelines, and surviving quite well.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. There is no moral justification to cheat another man.
To take back from a thief is wrong?
@VT – To take back from a thief by stealing is wrong. Again, two wrongs don’t make a right. There is a process (that depends upon the rule of law) to lawfully and morally take back what has been stolen. But the word “stolen” is questionable here. As has been stated before, if you took a loan out, you agreed to the terms. Even terms that allow them to change the terms. Otherwise, they would not be able to do what they do. For example, if you take on a variable rate mortgage and the current rate is 4% interest/year, can you really be angry if they raise the rate to 6% or higher? Not really. That’s the whole point of “variable rate”.
Even if you look at a credit card that you load up when the rate is 10%, but then your credit rating changes (perhaps because you paid off other debt and closed those accounts, in which case your used credit/available credit ratio gets worse – even though you paid down debt) and they raise the interest rate to 24%, it’s still not theft. You agreed to let them do that when you took on the loan.
In the extreme case where you took on a debt that simply had the lender with the ability to change the terms of the load (such as a credit card debt or other unsecured loan) and they then change the terms to be unfavorable to you, your option is to pay the debt off immediately or to accept the new terms and carry the loan. It’s still not theft.
It is only theft when they make changes that break the contract terms of the loan. In that case you have remedies through the legal system. The biggest issue facing debtors today is that they are incredibly short sighted. They think only of the immediate need/want and pay little attention to future consequences. It’s how our current debt-driven society works. It’s not theft if you agree to the contract terms that allow them to do it in the first place.
That’s why it is said that the debtor is slave to the lender. Better not to take on the debt in the first place. Next best is to pay off the debt and get out from under the boot of the lender. If you simply break the contract and steal from them, guess who the bad guy is?
Hugh: very clear, very moral thinking. Thank you for being a voice of righteousness.
Nice clarity, Hugh. No one ever stood with a gun to my head when I CHOSE to go into debt, and I doubt anyone else had that gun on’em either. I had the obligation to repay, and have been wonderfully out of all debt for many years now. There seems to be a strong desire to somehow justify walking away from a debt that one willingly accepted when they wanted the benefit and instant gratification of said debt, so they could get a new car, vacation, whatever. Long ago, when I was young, it used to be reinforced that a man’s word was his honor and bond, if you incurred a debt you repaid it, You are absolutely correct: Two wrongs do not make a right, it is a morally bankrupt argument, albeit a seemingly popular one (no one loves all those ‘evil banks’ out there which somehow are not so evil when you want somehting right this minute… ). Score one for personal responsibility and honesty, as unpopular as it may be with some.
“There is no moral justification to cheat another man.”
is fiat currency created for a mortgage a “loan”?
Did you have some sort of “gain” or “benefit” from the use of that fiat currency? By using the currency, you agree to the terms of it’s use.
(smile) you didn’t answer the question.
the loan itself is not a loan, it is theft.
@gman – Oh but I did 🙂
Currency (fiat or otherwise) is just a medium of exchange. When you get down to the bottom of it, wealth is measured in man-hours (What are you worth or what can you produce.) Currency is just a representation of wealth that allows for more flexibility. Even if the government produces that currency out of thin air, if all parties using it determine that it represents wealth, then commerce can take part. Whether it’s paper dollars, gold coins, clams or fancy wooden sticks (like England used) matters not. If you willingly participate in the system and trade some of this currency (representation of wealth) for goods or services, then you have agreed to it’s representation. To gain that benefit and then suddenly call it false is theft, because you have stolen someone else’s wealth.
In the end, the only way you can claim that fiat currency does not represent wealth is to not use it in the first place. By using it, you have universally declared it’s suitability as a representation of wealth.
How do credit card companies “rob” you? The terms (interest rate, late fees, etc) are clearly spelled out in the agreement you sign when you get the credit card. If you don’t want to pay high interest, late fees, etc all you have to do is pay off the balance every month, on time. It’s actually a pretty simple concept.
Credit Card Reform Act!
Allows banks to change the terms of contract simply by notifying you of the change. This is basically allowing banks to violate contract law–legally. All in the name of helping the poor. If you were financing a business based on the terms of your contract (less than 2% interest and extremely low payback rates at the time) the move to “fair” payback terms, which had been agreed on by both parties could have caused you to lose it all. Robin Hood and the Sheriff were both villians paying the same game.
They change the rules(rates,grace periods,etc)after you are in”the game”,better to stay out.
@VT – but you agree to let them change those rates when you take on the debt. Agree that it is better to stay out of the game.
My only comment is this question:
How much is your sense of honor worth to you? I can’t walk away from a store clerk with the wrong change in my pocket, let alone walk away from bank or CC company owing thousands.
Let’s look at the high spots, If we have a total melt down your debt is immaterial, you can pay off your mortgage with a bucket of rice. There will be no LEOs to inforce collection. In my county all foreclosures are served by the Sheriff, it is an elected office and subject to recall. I doubt that he will have time or inclination to serve papers. He lives in the community. There are 2 kinds of debt, secured ie Mortgages, and autos. The other is unsecured debt Credit cards, and unsecured loans. The former can be reposed, while the later can only be assigned a monetary judgement. Even the mortgage repo requires court action, and asking for a jury trial will overload the system even if it is still in existence. We can’t pay our mortgages even if we wanted to; we are just trying to exist, Which brings me to the moral issue. I give you the behavior of Wells Fargo , B of A, etc. The wrangling over Derivatives should keep them quite busy. They rely on cash flow to exist. Borrow from the feds @ 1% with only 15% 0f a loans value and charge 4% on the entire amount. Moral issue, I think not. Besides the fact that I will do anything to protect my family…
Goldman Saks
@Joe – but your assumption is that the rule of law will continue after a total economic/societal breakdown. I suspect, at least for a while, the rule of law will be replaced by the rule of might. If the rule of law still exists, so does your debt.
IMHO possession is nine tenths of the law. If you don’t have the title, deed, bill of sale in paper form, who actually owns it can be questioned. If a slow breakdown in society occurs, proof of ownership can provide an option to liquidate if you need to relocate, or convert a possession into the local currency that might be created. Systemic breakdown may leave no rule of law, in which case one may have to physically defend what they own until some form of order is restored. Right and wrong will become swift decisions. Good luck.
Some thoughts on this subject ( from personal experience and history).
If you think for even a minute that the tax collectors won’t be around sooner or later,just do a web search on the word “carpetbagger”, “scallywag”, or “scalawag”.
Recently someone I know lost all income and was abandoned by her spouse and family and lost the house to foreclosure. One of her credit card companies still sued for their money.
I don’t think that any debt that is recorded will ever just go away, so you need to be prepared to pay them even if the system is down.
In closing, as HJL said, it’s the right thing to do. You made the debt on your honor. Regardless of how you perceive your treatment, you agreed to the terms of the deal. If you have no honor, then you don’t have much of a soul.
Don’t forget it doesn’t work the other way,if you are owed(bank account,CD,account receive able)they will simply bankrupt or be uncollectable and leave you holding the bag(counterparty risk).
We forget that Usury was once considered a sin – not by the debtor but the creditor.
https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/
Recourse or non-recourse matters (i.e. in a mortgage, you and the bank co-own the house until it is paid off, and the bank can foreclose and take the house, but the bank doesn’t own you).
But debt is generally imprudent. If you are living in an area after a systemic failure would nullify your debts, there would be far worse problems. And in the interim, it might not be a crash on a particular day, but your property, savings, and income might disappear, but the debts remain while they ruin your life, and then the real crash.
One thing, be careful of making an idol of paying down debt. You are much less fragile if you owe $20,000 and have $22,000 in the bank than if you owe nothing but just have $2,000 in the bank and no active line of credit for emergencies. FIRST insure you have 6 months of cash flow saved up, 9 months is better, a year is best, and only then allocate to paying down debt. Obviously I don’t know individual situations and am not a financial planner. A small debt with a high (25% or more default) interest rate should be paid off first, but the 0% car loan should be left even if you are only getting 0.25% interest.
Reading several of these comments, I am very disappointed. I expected better from readers of this blog, which is Christian and morally focused. Failure to pay your debt is one thing and one thing only: thievery. That’s all it is, there is no justifying or prettying it up, it’s thievery. You can take pig excrement and put it in a fancy box, wrap it up in pretty paper and put a silk ribbon on top, but when you open up that box, guess what’s still inside it? Are the rules of the consumer debt game unfairly tilted towards the lender? Absolutely. But is the same law of supply and demand. They have the money, you need the money, and you accept the repayment terms when you sign on the dotted line. The only way to win and retain one’s morality is not to play the game.
Years ago I watched the movie The Legend Of Bagger Vance. I honestly only remember one part of that whole movie and it was that the young boys father paid his debts off. While others took advantage the one with moral fiber paid his debts. That says it all doesn’t it. How’s your moral fiber???
Pay as you go and if you can’t pay then don’t go.
As a Christian, I get the idea of the moral aspect of paying off debt. As an informed citizen who has learned of the absolute immorat actions of the banks and governments around the world, including if not led by ours, I have little to zero concern of leaving them hanging if the balloon goes up, given they created it so they could usher in a one world communist government….. Look at the basics of our plight, who is responsible, enemies of our freedom. They created a fiat banking system for the very purpose of controlling our lives…. yes, it’s a trap with an agenda that will usher in the worst of the worst. And some here think we should pay them back for thier dirty deeds. NOT ME. I think it’s pathetic they have plundered our hard earned money as they have, includint the fact our hard earned money is paying for this Islamic invasion at this very moment. Our hard earned money built the police state we all are confined to. My Lord has shown me the truths of our reality, and giving unto Satan, what is Satans, comes to mind….. he’s a liar and a thief, as are his chosen one’s.
How much insanity can a sane man take when it comes to the corruption of the institutions that takes our money under threat of force, emprisonment, or death. WE are way overdue for that day of reckoning, and paying back the hand that spanks me is not on my to do list.
I agree with getting out of debt. However as I read about Germany post WWI and the inflation that happen, I understand that peoples wages went up at a similar alarming rate to prices for a time. If you have what you need to survive and don’t need to buy at the inflated prices, you could use the increase in wages to pay off debt. Or am I think of it wrong?
This really should be another thread but I would love articles on how to change all state governments so they don’t collect property tax. Even if one is totally debt free as I am we are still forced to pay “rent” year after year to the county in the form of property tax. These counties get the value of a property over and over again through perpetuity . Your children and your children’s children and their children will continue to pay the county tax/rent on a property that should be one’s right to
inhabit and create an existence on without paying the feudal lords called tax assessor.
D: Read history. There is always a wave of shyster lawyers and similar types buying up paper and grabbing property. The people that were the subject of Grapes of Wrath were farmers kicked off their land by banks. There is a Wall Street fund that is the largest owner of single family homes after the 2008 mess.
I’ll also say I owe plenty. I gave my word and I will pay every dime. There is however little love lost over bankers.
The same people who say they don’t have to pay what they borrowed are those who borrowed my tools, car, etc. , and break it but don’t fix it, or just fail to ever return it, and borrow cash with a promise to payback but never do.
And the crash isn’t just an instant change. It’s ongoing now. Debt collection is real and LEOs and many others have guns and courts and jails waiting to pounce. Have morals and manage your debt load, but act with integrity as God Almighty knows all sins and expects repentance.
Read 1st Peter. See what he says. He is the rock Jesus built the church on. Meditate on God’s word daily. It’s the most critical prep of all.
Where did honor go?
I work for a too big to fail bank as a collector. If you think for one second that the deeds and contracts will fade away during or after any sort of downturn you are sadly mistaken. Only the rich will keep their land if there is a contract attached to it. The poor will loose to the foreclosure and paid local lawman. Pay off the land and make sure that no one puts a lien against it.
Wonder if the mushroom clouds will mushroom our property taxes? I’m thinking of buying a little place in Cheyenne mountain to get away from it all.
in a general drawdown if an individual has no or insufficient personal or private debt then the government simply will borrow money for them and assign the resulting debt to them (the money created for this debt benefits you and thus obligates you to repay, your individual consent provided by remaining within this country, yes?). the idea is not to make sure all debts are paid, the idea is to make sure debt can never be paid, thus providing an excuse for the seizure of all “collateral” – all land, all property, all taxpayers themselves.
If we must pay property taxes, then who really owns the property? There is no way to pay that off. Be it the banker, or the government, someone will come to take your land. The best move is not to play.
I understand it being the “right thing” to do. But my question is this…
I took out my mortgage and promised to pay the mortgage company, “Y” dollars a month until the debt was paid off. But I took on that debt, after the State of California offered me a pension and promised to pay me “X” dollars a month. Now I was paying extra on my mortgage every month in an effort to pay it off early until ObamaCare came along with its high premiums and even higher deductibles.
Lets say that the SHTF or the State of California/ Illinois decide they can no longer pay 100 cents on the dollar of pension costs, so they decide to pay only 30 or 40 cents on the dollar or if SHTF, nothing of what they owe.
So why, if a state government can pay less or nothing at all of what they promised to pay me, am I still obligated to pay someone else??
I see this effecting hundreds of thousands of people and may even be one of the causes of an economic collapse.
But on principle, if a state or city, or heck even the Federal Gov’t (unable to pay social security/medicare) can stop paying what they promised to pay people, why are those people still obligated to pay ? Thanks, trying to understand.
@Knight Owl, Because in the mortgage company contract, there is no link between the two. The bank may have checked your credit and made an assumption of your future ability to pay based upon your projected income sources, but there isn’t a clause in your contract that states that you are excused from repayment if your income ceases. It would be the same thing if you got laid off of work. Just because you are without a job does not excuse you from the agreement that you made with the bank.
There are remedies available through the legal system, but they all have a cost. If you break the mortgage contract, it’s going to hurt, even if you pursue these remedies through the courts (like bankruptcy.)
Consider the flip side – If you were in a position to lend a significant amount of money to someone who then lost their job, would you be willing to absorb the loss of that income to you? Why should you suffer because he lost his job? Why he lost is job has nothing to do with his obligation to you. He is obligated to find another job so that he can still pay you (or sell the home, or whatever he has to do to meet his obligation.)
Part of the issue is that our debt-driven society encourages people to take on amounts of debt that can’t realistically be paid back unless every thing goes right all the time. There is no personal responsibility or contingencies planned for. But they are ultimately responsible for the debt that they take on. The bank usually doesn’t hold a gun to a person’s head and make them sign the contract. They may entice you (or appeal to a persons greed more likely), but there is personal responsibility when you sign the contract.
The danger of depending upon a retirement account or pension is that you are making the assumption that whoever holds the account will manage it well and that some crises won’t wipe it out. You certainly have legal remedies available to you if they don’t manage it well, but since the government creates the laws, they can just as easily create an exemption for themselves in the law.
No question, it’s an ugly situation and a very hard lesson to learn.
Thank you…I see multiple ponzi schemes happening in the future when states default on pensions and then the feds start defaulting on social security payments. You’re right the “lawmakers” will re-write the laws to end their obligations, but our obligations will continue.
I do understand that the obligations that I have incurred remain my obligations and I will redouble my efforts to become more frugal and pay them down faster.
Will Illinois be the first state domino to fall?
D asked “who is going to enforce the debts”. I guess the Egyptians may have asked that question at one time. Answer was Joseph.
Most historical examples of financial collapse that would cause me to have problems paying for my mortgage also involve elements of war, destruction, and refugees. Most refugees lose everything that they can’t physically take with them, including their real property. That’s why I pay my mortgage on schedule, but put my extra cash into tangibles or multiple bank accounts or bitcoins or other examples of value that can be portable or shipped out of state/country in the event something like a totalitarian government, world war, civil war, break up of the US, super volcano, meteor strike, global warming/cooling, tsunami, etc. that turns us into refugees and we have to leave in the middle of the night and never return. The goal is to never be a refugee, but to be prepared for any eventuality and not lose all my money in a non-liquid asset. YMMV.