Brittany M. Powell - The Debt Project: 99 Portraits Across America

THE DEB

T P ROJECT

99 POR

TRAITS AC ROSS AMERICA

BRITT ANY M. POW ELL WITH A FOREWO RD BY AS TRA T AYL OR

2020 by B rittany M. Powe ll

Foreword 020 b y As tra T ay lor

All ri ghts r eserv ed. No par t o f this boo k ma y be rep roduced or tran smitte d i n an y for m or b y an y me ans, e lectro nic o r me chanical, inc luding p hotoc opying, rec ording, or by a ny information st orage and retri eval s ystem , w ithout w ritten per mission o f the pub lisher .

Library of C ongress Ca taloging-in -Publi cation D ata

Names: Powel l, B rittany M, aut hor .

Title: T he d ebt p roject : 9 9 p ortrait s a cross Ame rica / Br ittany M P owell ; with a fore word b y As tra T ay lor .

Description: Be rkeley : W est Ma rgin P ress, 2020 . | Sum mary: T he D ebt P roject is a pho to se ries o f 99 por trait s a nd h andwritt en s tories of deb t acr oss the US P rovide d b y pu blisher .

Identier s: L CCN 2020 01645 0 ( print) | L CCN 2020 01645 1 ( eb ook) | ISBN 9 7815 132643 32 ( hardback ) | ISB N 9 7815 132643 49 ( eb ook)

Subjects: LCS H: D ebt Unit ed S tates. | D ebt Unit ed S tatesP ictorial wor ks.

Classicati on: L CC HG1 81 . P665 2020 (prin t) | LC C HG 181 ( eb ook) | D DC 3 32.7 /4 3092273 dc23 LC re cord a vailable at htt ps:/ / lccn.loc. gov/ 2020016 LC e book r ecord avai lable a t htt ps:/ / lccn.loc. gov/ 2020016

Proudly dist ributed by I ngram P ublisher Ser vices .

Printed in Chi na

5 4

Graphic A rts B ooks is an imp rint o f

WestMa rginPres s.com

WEST MA RGIN P RESS

Publishing D irecto r: J ennifer Ne wens Marketi ng Ma nager: A ngela Z bornik Project Spe cialist: G abrielle Ma udiere Editor : O livia N gai Design & Prod uction: Rache l Lo pez M etzg er

This book is dedic ated to m y son, Wa ylon P owell Z uaro, who I hope wil l one day live in a wor ld where equality i s the defa ult, inste ad of the goal.

FOREWORD

It i s a lways h ard t o s ee a n a bsence. W hat does l ack l ook l ike? H ow d o y ou r epresent the e xisten ce o f d ebt, o f a ccounts p ast d ue, in a w orld o bsessed w ith a ffluence a nd plenty? B rittan y Pow ell s p ower ful s eries The Debt P roject off ers a comp elling a nd m oving visual response t o thes e urgent questi ons.

As a w riter , f ilmmake r, a nd o rganiz er, I h ave b een w orking i n v arious m edia t o make th e c risis of i ndebte dness bo th vi sible and a ctionable, a nd t o t ransform i t f rom a source o f in dividual sh ame an d an xiety in to an o pportunity f or s hared i ndignation a nd solidarity . Afte r all, bein g broke is somethi ng we a re s ocialize d n ot t o d iscuss, e ven tho ugh most p eople a re i n a rrears. We ne ed t o b reak this s ilence a nd b e h onest a bout t he f inancial burdens w e a ll ca rry. That is t he only way to expose an d t ransform the c omplex sy stem of debt an d cr edit t hat di ctates t he t erms an d conditions under which so many of us live .

Debt is a p aradox ical th ing. Ever y ba lance owed i s s omeone e lses a sset, a s ource o f interest a nd i ncome f or l enders p ositioned to p rofit. T hose a ssets a re a k ey w ay a handful o f va st for tunes g row. In 2 019, t hree billionaires h eld m ore w ealth t ogethe r t han half o f t he c ountry s p opulation c ombined. But t he m ath i snt t hat s urprising. T he same y ear i t w as r eporte d t hat t he a vera ge

American d ies w ith a n egative b alance o f over $60,00 0 hangi ng ov er t hem. W hen y ou add u p t he b alances o f m illions o f p eople who ar e w orth l ess t han no thing, e ven z ero proves impossible to reach.

It i s t ime f or a m oral a ccounti ng. W ho actually ow es wh at to w hom? W hat de bts ar e just a nd w hich a re u njust? T hese q uestions took on a n ew u rgency w hen t he c oronav irus pandemic c rashed t he g lobal e conomy in e arly T he o utbreak p recipitate d a d ual c risis, a m edical o ne a nd a f inancial one. A s p eople a cross t he c ountry w ere ordered t o shelter in p lace fo r the phy sical health o f t heir c ommuniti es, c ountless j obs disappeared alm ost ov ernight.

These i mages h elp e xplain w hy t he economic d evastat ion w as s o f ast a nd furious f or s o m any p eople, f or t hey o ffe r a w indow i nto t he p eriod j ust b efore coronav irus a ppeared o n t he s cene. S ince debtor s by defin ition h ave no s avings, a l oss of i ncome me ans f alling d eeper i nto a d ebt trap o r s piraling i nto d efault. C ontrary t o the m yth o f th e p rofligate s pender , th e v ast majority o f p eople b orrow m oney t o m ake ends m eet. H undreds o f m illions o f r egular working Ameri cans pay for housing, medical care, an d sc hooling wi th cr edit. Th ey ba rely manage t o h old o n by a th read, a nd i n e arly

2020 that deli cate thr ead snapped in two.

Most bo rrower s ar e no t in d ebt be cause they l ive b eyon d t heir m eans; t hey a re i n debt be cause th ey ar e d enied th e m eans to live. Th at w as a s t rue l ast y ear a s i t i s t oday . In c ountries t hat h ave u nivers al he alth ca re, medical d ebt i s u nheard o f; i n t he U nited States, m edical de bt is t he le ading ca use of bankruptc y a nd t he p rospect o f a ccruing medical d ebt d iscourages p eople f rom seeking t he t reatmen t t hey n eed. I f w e h ad tuition- free p ublic c ollege a vailab le t o a ll, educatio nal d ebt w ould v irtually d isappear . If w orker s w ere p aid f airly f or t heir l abor , predato ry p ayda y l enders a nd m any c redit card c ompanies w ould b e f orced o ut o f business. I nstead, d ecades of f latlining wa ges and t he d eregulati on o f t he f inancial s ector have fueled the ex plosion of cons umer debt.

The Debt Pr oject revea ls the human fac es and st ories be hind th e nu mbers an d st atistics . What d oes d ebt l ook l ike? I t i s n ot j ust a number o n a p ast- due n otice. D ebt l ooks like a h uman b eing. I t l ooks l ike a m other taking o ut a t itle l oan o n h er c ar , a c hild denied n ourishment b ecause h er p arents owe t he s chool lunch d ebt, a se nior c itizen having t heir t ax r eturns g arnished t o s ettle a judgment, a pati ent jailed bec ause they cant pay the ir hospital bill.