NYT: Creditors will not negotiate reduced balances with consumers who are still making monthly payments. But when they stop paying, total balances swell with fees and interest rates. And depending on the law in states where debtors live, creditors can attach wages and property to satisfy the new total owed. Hat tip to Elizabeth Warren, who has some interesting thoughts on the subject herself.
UPDATE: This is equally disgusting. Can we please get some regulation? Please? (h/t Kevin Drum)
SPECIAL DEAL: Subscribe to our award-winning print magazine, a publication Bernie Sanders calls "unapologetically on the side of social and economic justice," for just $1 an issue! That means you'll get 10 issues a year for $9.95.
Adam Doster, a contributing editor at In These Times, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former reporter-blogger for Progress Illinois.