Debt relief

Debt relief can briefly be defined as the total or partial forgiveness of debt. It also relates to slowing down or stopping the rate of debt growth which is to be paid by individuals, societies, corporations, organizations and nations.

Although, the term debt relief is very old and has been in use since time immemorial. The concept of debt forgiveness has been referred to in the Book of Leviticus. Here God has counseled moses to forgive and forget debts in a few cases every Jubilee year. Similarly the concept of debt forgiveness has also been discussed in literature found in Ancient Athens.

Although supported for the noble cause this concept has also been criticized by many. The opponents of debt relief have argued that this support is a blank cheque to the governments of underdeveloped and developing nations. They also feared that these savings would entangle in the corrupt system and would not reach the poor people in these countries who are in actual need of this support. Some others have argued that these poor countries will ask for further debts thinking that these debts will also be pardoned in future. Some countries were found to use the debt money to develop and boost of the rich and wealthy. Thus the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. Some countries spent this money on the rich of other countries so even the filter effect of its use did not benefit the poor of the poor nations. The arguments they presented in support was that this money if spent in projects would be more helpful to them. Another argument presented was that the third-world countries would not manage their credit productively, overspend the borrowed money in expectation of receiving debt relief in future. Some others have also argued against the restrictions and conditions associated with debt relief.

Another term most commonly used in context to debt relief is the personal debt. This has now become a large problem in the past few years and is increasing at a rapid rate. Studies have shown that the average household in US has $19,000 calculated as the non-mortgage debt. This huge amount of debt is difficult to be paid by individuals and they need the aid and support to make payments.

A large number of companies are involved in offering services related to debt consolidation. But these services might not be in the benefit of the sufferers. They might involve borrowing of a loan on secured investments like property and personal home. So taking help from such companies is not always safe and should be taken care of.