Most people in this politically correct world accept that
slavery is wrong. I would agree for the
most part. I consider slavery wrong when
someone forces someone else to work under threat of violence and wrong when
that person people (or group of people) steal the profit from these people’s
work. If I go to Africa in a ship and
pick up a slew of natives under threat of force that is wrong. If someone else buys these workers and forces
them to work, without the opportunity to opt out of this agreement it is
wrong. The threat of unjust violence and
theft is what I consider wrong. Slavery in
this sense is wrong because it takes away the right of these individuals to opt
out.
Voluntary Slavery
Voluntary slavery is a contract that binds an individual to
work under certain conditions. In
colonial America, business owners would pay for people’s transportation to the
new world, train them, and in return these individuals would sign a contract
obligating them to work for X amount of years for the business. This is not wrong on the part of the worker
or the business because it is voluntary, however this type of contract could be
extremely foolish. Back then I might
have signed this type of contract depending on my circumstances; however
voluntary slavery exists to this day (as well as involuntary slavery, but that’s
a different issue). The most common type
of voluntary slavery in developed societies is debt.
I am a Voluntary Slave
Last fall I entered into a voluntary slavery contract with a
company called Wells Fargo. I borrowed
money from them in order to purchase a 2007 Toyota Corolla. In return for them putting the money forward
and providing me with transportation to work I agreed to pay Wells Fargo extra
money than what the dealership was charging.
I believe this was a smart decision, but I also accept that now Wells
Fargo owns me for a period of time. I
have given up the opportunity to do as I please; now I have to go to work and
bring in money to make my car payments, no matter what happens. If I don’t they will take the car, and all
the money I previously paid towards the car is gone. I have subjected myself to slavery.
The Land of the Free
Almost everyone in US
society is a wage slave (car loans, mortgages, college loans, business loans
etc.). We live more comfortable lives by
giving up our freedom (in theory our lives are more comfortable, at least for
the time being). The United States
Federal government owes over $16
trillion dollars (to put this in contrast to what the US industry produced
in 2012, it was $15.65
trillion); if every citizen opted to pay off this debt for the federal government
each individual would owe the federal government’s creditors over $50,000. Not only is the Federal debt insanely high
but it increases on average $2.77
billion a day. Most of us owe money
to domestic banks, and the federal government owes money to foreign banks. The banks own us, and our personal debt is
voluntary, but the federal government’s spending puts us into INVOLUNTARY
SLAVERY. Every single week the government
steals over 200 dollars out of my paycheck, under threat of force. With you it may be more or it may be less but
if you work, you are an involuntary slave to the Federal government. The next time people recite the Pledge of
Allegiance (“with liberty and justice for all”) think about how the federal
government has forced you into slavery, and how you have forced yourself into
slavery. This is NOT the land of the
Free.
The Effects of Debt on Prices
It is almost common knowledge that the higher the demand for
something the higher the price will be; the lower the demand for something, the
lower the price will be. A century ago
it was common for people to buy their homes with cash and now that is almost
completely unheard of. What happened was
the increase in mortgages created a higher demand for homes which slowly but
steadily brought home prices up. If
someone can easily borrow money to pay for their home they are much more
willing to spend more money on it. This
has happened and now it is extremely difficult to buy a house with cash,
because you are competing with buyers who are willing to enter into voluntary
slavery to a bank. Now Americans owe
over $13
trillion in mortgage debt.
This phenomenon of more debt correlating with higher prices
can also be seen in the education industry. Between 1980 and 2011 the average
cost of all college institutions (factoring in inflation) is 6 times higher. In the mid-1980s the amount of Federal loans
you could take out over four years was $10,000. Now it is $31,000. The high cost of college directly correlates
to the debt people are willing and able to put themselves into. People are willing to pay more for things
when they borrow the money, and this drives prices up. Americans now owe over a trillion dollars
in student debt.
What are You Doing to Keep Yourself out of Slavery?
Debt harms our entire society and robs us out of our
freedom. Debt should be considered a last
resort, and yet for most people it is the most accepted part of their financial
lives. They buy cars and make payments
(as I am). They borrow hundreds of
thousands of dollars to “own” a home and end up paying at least double the original
price over the next 15/30+ years. The
average college senior with loans graduates college owing over $25,000 only
to leave college and find low demands for the skills which they learned in
college. Many find themselves as cashiers,
parking
lot attendants, waiting
tables, working
retail or unemployed. In 1992 5.1 million college graduates found
themselves “underemployed”; in 2008 that number had climbed to 17
million.
If Americans ever want the freedom they claim to have they
need to start by rejecting the slavery that they inflict upon themselves. Free yourself.
realityisoffensive@gmail.com
realityisoffensive@gmail.com
