The maldistribution of income and astronomical wealth inequality in America is only getting worse as our sociopathic president and his Republican cronies in Congress seek to take a chainsaw to the edifice of the new deal programs. Worse yet, debt collectors are now profiting off debt collections in a most un-American fashion.
Think Progress reports that third-party debt collectors are in direct violation of the constitution by sending out threatening letters that seek to extract money from millions of people. Moreover, they’re flouting well-established laws banning the use of debtors’ prisons, according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union shows.
Making matters even worse is that these shady companies are getting a lot of help from judges and prosecutors in their efforts to illegally collect debts.
The last time I checked, this isn’t Dickensian, London.
Here’s how this extraordinarily deceptive practice goes down:
Debt collectors contract with local district attorneys to distribute menacing letters on official prosecutor letterhead, then file a plethora of small-dollar collections suits to judges who sign off on them despite absolutely no due process.
Luckily, the ACLU is jumping in to stop this unconstitutional practice.
The debts in question are often tiny, according to an ACLU lawyer who claims the ACLU has documented over:
“…10,000 [bounced] checks for under $10 that triggered letters threatening consumers with jail.”
Making matters even worse is when individuals wind up on a spreadsheet purchased by a debt buyer either have no idea about it or, if they are aware and go to court, often have to represent themselves. To be exact, defendants who had a lawyer represent a mere 2 percent of cases
The debtor’s prison topic has been thrust into the national conversation call a:
“…Statewide extortion scheme, aimed at targeting impoverished Oklahomans”
FOX23 discovered Oklahoma is one of a:
“…Few states who fund their criminal justice system through court fines paid by the alleged criminals themselves.”
An army of ACLU lawyers are presently fighting this process and making sure it never happens to anyone with debt, regardless of the amount.
Featured image via Rediff.
