Hanky Panky is the title of Chapter three and Trudeau continues his theme that Debt Cures will allow you to no longer be a slave to debt. You will have the opportunity to find true financial independence and to begin to create your own wealth. Follow Trudeau"s advice and move your life to new heights.
Trudeau says that Americans are too trusting. We do not realize the federal government is getting in the way of our financial independence by cooperating with the credit card companies and the banking industry. The average consumer does not contribute much to the politicians" re-election campaign while the banks do contribute tremendously. So is it a surprise the federal government does nothing to help stop us from going further into debt? We are in debt a combined record of $6.7 trillion dollars, and Trudeau comments that the average working person spends 90% of their disposable income in paying down debts. Debt is growing at an epidemic rate but the federal government keeps looking the away from the issue. Some Americans fear getting out of bed everyday due to debt induced stress, yet Trudeau states the federal government is partners with the lenders.
There are four problem areas that Trudeau sees with the marriage of government and lenders. First is bankruptcy, one in fifty Americans has filed bankruptcy an all-time high. One would hope the government would take action to help consumers, but Trudeau says the government took actions to make it more difficult to file for bankruptcy. Recent legislation helped lenders not borrowers. Now banks and credit card companies have greater protection against consumers needing to file bankruptcy. Next, Trudeau follows an earlier theme that it"s not the borrowers who are out of control, it"s the lenders. If it wasn"t so easy to borrow, then our debt level would be much lower. Lenders make it easy to borrow so they can collect on the fees and penalties they are allowed to issue thanks to the government. And whenever the banks want to do something different, they call their buddies on Capitol Hill to change the law. Third is the subprime mortgage crisis. According to Trudeau the current crisis was brought on in part by the government and the banks. The government wants to take credit for building up new home ownership in the country so they encouraged the banks to make risky loans. The benefit for the banks is they get to foreclose and gobble up valuable property. Lastly there is a student loan scandal, which is a scandal worth $85 billion dollars. Trudeau alleges that several financial aid officers at colleges and universities are on the payroll from student loan companies. He quotes a newspaper article saying, the government sits and its hands "lacking the legal authority" to do anything.
The federal government has betrayed the trust with consumers. Trudeau wants us to know that "the inner workings or the entire consumer lending industry is one of the greatest travesties that this country has ever seen." But Trudeau wants us to overcome this travesty. Debt Cures is going to lead a call to arms to help consumers take back control of their financial well-being.