Moving the Numbers around: Debt Consolidation (cont.)
Contributed by Boo Roberts
Who thought up Debt Consolidation?
No one really knows who came up with the term debt consolidation. Perhaps it first came about in prehistoric times, when someone owed someone else some antelope tusks, or dried fur. Another neighbor might have heard what was going on, and offered to pay off what was owed in exchange for, say, the antelope tusks plus gutter cleaning. Who knows? Or maybe what they really needed was someone to take out the trash, so instead of the antelope tusks (do antelopes even have tusks? ) they decided the trade would be taking out the trash every day for so many days.
Of course, debt consolidation probably came about by a big corporation trying to figure out how to make more money. The minions in the corporation noticed how high credit card debt was becoming and they figured, hey, those guys are sitting ducks anyhow, how about we pay off what they owe, charge them interest for it, and reap the rewards? These corporate types probably weren't figuring on anyone realizing that no money was actually exchanging hands, paper was just being mailed around.
And, come to think of it, when we write a check to pay that debt consolidation loan, that's just paper too, isn't it? Where is the actual money? All it is is paper, numbers on paper, and people sending the paper. Or, today, wiring the numbers over the computer from one establishment to the next. No one really touches the money, do they? It is all virtual.
Maybe our prehistoric ancestors had the right idea. Maybe it is better to barter and bargain, and get goods for services rendered, than to exchange money. Of course, the very fiber of society would probably rip open, because isn't it all about the money?
