Opinion
Tips: How to Spot Personal Debt Scammers
W
ith so many Americans
unemployed or under-
employed, the social
stigma of debt is not as harsh as it
once was. Too many people who
have played by the rules and
worked all of their lives now find
themselves deeply mired in debt.
Young consumers, armed with a
degree in one hand and student
loans in the other, wonder when
they can live independently of
their parents’ financial support. In
this still-unfolding financial
recovery, family standards of liv-
ing are faltering, retirements are
delayed and both generations
worry.
For many consumers, the debt
dilemma is akin to a seesaw. One
side wonders whether available
funds will stretch far enough to
pay their bills. The other side wor-
ries whether remaining credit can
see them through.
Unfortunately, there are busi-
nesses that prey upon consumer
financial misfortunes, promising
easy solutions to nagging and deep
R ESPONSIBLE L ENDING
Charlene Crowell
debt. On urban radio and late night
television these companies adver-
tise how debt can be settled for
pennies on the dollar. Some will
even identify the amount of debt
consumers must owe before they
can “help” them.
Consumers who believe this
kind of advertising almost always
get scammed. After paying thou-
sands of dollars in fees, they
discover that there was never a
connection between the monies
paid and real debt reduction serv-
ices. Unfortunately, by the time
this epiphany occurs, consumer
finances are in worse shape than
before. And the debt settlement
firm moves on to its next victim.
Consumers using these services
are also often told not to speak
with their creditors or pay them
directly any portion of the debt
owed. If the consumer follows the
instructions of the debt settlement
firm, penalty interest rates – as
well as late fees and other charges
— begin to accrue on the amount
originally owed. In the meantime,
the creditor often escalates collec-
tion efforts as well, sometimes
turning the debt over to a collec-
state attorney generals and Federal
Trade Commission enforcement.
With the Consumer Financial Pro-
tection Bureau, consumers have
also gained a federal office dedi-
cated to transparency and fairness
in debt relief and debt collection.
The Federal Trade Commission
advises consumers to guard
If the consumer follows the instructions
of the debt settlement firm, penalty
interest rates – as well as late fees and
other charges — begin to accrue on
the amount originally owed
tion agency or initiating lawsuits
or wage garnishments.
If consumers stop paying their
debts, their credit scores fall and
make it more difficult to gain
credit elsewhere.
These practices have been chal-
lenged in private litigation, by
against fraudulent debt relief firms
by avoiding any company that:
Charges any fees before it settles
your debts;
Guarantees it can make your
unsecured debt go away and stop
all debt collection calls or law-
suits;
Tells you to stop communicating
with your creditors;
Guarantees that your unsecured
debts can be paid off for just pen-
nies on the dollar; and
Refuses to send free information
about the services until you pro-
vide
personal
financial
information, such as credit card
account numbers, and balances.
For most people, money has a
way of leaving out faster than it
comes in. When debt is involved,
bills seem to reappear even faster.
The better way to resolve unman-
ageable debt is the simple one:
speak directly with your creditors
to set up a manageable payment
plan. No one is better able to com-
municate
your
financial
challenges than you. More impor-
tantly, no one will work harder to
relieve your personal financial
stress more than you.
Charlene Crowell is a communi-
cations manager with the Center
for Responsible Lending.
Same Sex Marriage is a Big Issue with Little Relevance
A
ccording to President
Obama, Vice President Joe
Biden got “a little bit over
his skis” when Biden said he is
“absolutely comfortable’ with gay
marriage. That’s fine. Biden is
one of the few remaining politi-
cians in this age of political
correctness who says what he
means and usually means what he
says.
The day after Biden made his
statement, Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan said that he believes
that same sex marriage should be
legal. As a result, President
Obama accelerated his decision
became to become the first Amer-
ican president to support same sex
marriage by stating, “I think same-
sex couples should be able to get
married.”
After all of the dust settles, most
I NSIDE THE I SSUES
Wilmer J. Leon III
they meet its requirements, they
can be married in that particular
place of worship.
As the president of a constitu-
tional democracy that does not
define marriage as a union
between a male and female, Presi-
dent Obama is correct in stating, “I
think same-sex couples should be
able to get married.” The 14th
Amendment to the Constitution
requires each state to provide
equal protection under the law to
all people within its jurisdiction
and to ensure that the citizens of
each state are entitled to all privi-
leges and immunities of citizens
in the several states. This is a sim-
President Obama’s support of gay
marriage is more symbolic than
substantive because the federal
government does not issue marriage
licenses and does not set the
standards by which couples are wed
people should see that in the
broader context of national priori-
ties, same sex marriage is a big
issue with little relevance. It’s a
wedge issue, a distraction. Presi-
dent Obama’s support will prove
to be more symbolic than substan-
tive.
Too many people have blurred
the lines between civil issues and
religion. Rev. David Pinckney,
pastor of the evangelical River of
Grace Church in Concord, N.H., is
only half correct in stating, “It’s
not a civil rights issue; it’s a reli-
gious issue…” It’s both. Each
state sets the requirements for
marriage and issues licenses to
those residents who meet the crite-
ria. If a couple then wants to have
their union sanctioned by their
respective religious institution and
ple matter of civil law and civil
rights.
President Obama’s support of
gay marriage is more symbolic
than substantive because the fed-
eral government does not issue
marriage licenses and does not set
the standards by which couples
are wed. If this issue reaches the
Supreme Court, the Obama
administration could be asked to
weigh in and would make a deci-
sion at that time
If a particular religious body
finds gay marriage to be in con-
flict with its teachings, it should
not be compelled to sanction such
a union and the law up to this
point is clear on this issue. In the
larger context of the national
political landscape, gay marriage
is being used as a wedge issue to
distract public attention away
from the issues that can be
resolved at the national level.
This is perfect example of reli-
gion vs. politics and why Thomas
Jefferson clearly understood the
need for distance in the relation-
ship between organized religion
and the nation state. He believed
that religion was a very personal
matter, one which the government
had no business getting involved
in and called for a “wall of separa-
tion between church and state”.
To those who want to equate gay
marriage with the prohibition
against interracial marriage, be
careful. Anti-miscegenation laws,
laws that enforced racial segrega-
tion at the level of marriage were
designed to maintain an intention-
ally oppressive social order based
upon artificial racial constructs in
order to maintain a social and eco-
nomic benefit for Whites in
America. Opposition to gay mar-
riage is primarily based in the
religious context. It is also diffi-
cult to discuss gay marriage in the
civil rights context when many in
the gay and lesbian community
face racism from within the com-
munity itself.
To those knee-jerk, reactionary
and intolerant so-called social
conservatives and evangelical
Christians, it’s important to
remember that to be a Christian is
to be Christ-like.
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Obama Did Not Take
Easy Way Out on
Same-Sex Marriage
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May 23, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5
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