but I recently had the misfortune to be in a discussion with a young lady (early 20's I'd guess) who works for a debt collection agency. No, she wasn't trying to collect a debt from me. We happened to both be present at a community gathering.
What started out as an attempt, on my part, to engage in small-talk, ended up providing me with some truly appalling insights.
This young lady seemed to believe that she had the world by the tail, and, IMO had an attitude of contempt toward anyone who wasn't
her . As the conversation turned, somehow, to the sub-prime mortgage mess, she opined that anyone who was facing foreclosure had brought it on themselves and that they were just "stupid" (her words) for not reading their mortgage contract more carefully.
I replied that most contracts are, by their nature, filled with "legalese" and are difficult for the average layperson to understand. Thus the need for lawyers, versed in contract law, to parse the language and make it understandable to their clients. This is even more the case given that the companies involved in the sub-prime debacle were promoting what was, in fact, a giant Ponzi scheme, and were certainly not motivated to provide transparency in their contracts. Nevertheless, she persisted in her initial position.
Well, on and on it went. When I expressed regret that there are so few social programs anymore and that individuals who find themselves in dire straits, financial or otherwise, ought to have some assistance, she said that there were too many social workers in this country and that the lack of programs was a way of "thinning the herd".
By this time I was so traumatized that I shortly took my leave. I don't know this young lady, and I probably will never encounter her again. But I would welcome the opportunity to tell her that she should pray to whatever gods exist that she never, for example, gives birth to a child who has special needs and finds that there are no "programs" to provide assistance.
Furthermore, since spending one's days harrassing people to pay their debts is not exactly a "career track", I hope she doesn't find herself on the street with no income, no unemployment insurance and no golden parachute when the company she works for decides to downsize to increase their profit margin. She might then reflect on the necessity for a "social contract" in any civilized society to provide help to those in need.
* * * * *
I realize that I have digressed, somewhat, in my response to you, which was intended to say that people cannot always be left to their own devices, especially in the present economic climate, where corporate predators abound. Note the thread on DU's homepage today:
Chase mortgage memo pushes 'Cheats & Tricks'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3244586Oh, and I agree with you about the business opportunity for new attorneys.