In theory, is there some way that a law could be made in the USA where all debt is declared void?
by admin ~ October 14th, 2008 . Filed under: Law & Ethics .
“Kh a a a a a n n” ! ! asked:
Could the Constitution be ammended to declare all debt, personal, corporate, etc - totally VOID?
Could the Constitution be ammended to declare all debt, personal, corporate, etc - totally VOID?
Could this be done?
Nigel Councilman
October 16th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Sure, technically any amendment could be added to the Constitution, as long as it doesn’t contradict an existing part of the Constitution.
Even if they wanted to declare all debts void, they probably wouldn’t do it as a Constitutional amendment, because that’s more for ongoing things, and voiding existing debts would be a one-time thing.
They do have things like tax amnesties or debt forgiveness now and then. I doubt they would ever enact a law voiding all debts, because that would mean that every business owed any money at all by anyone would lose it. Also, individuals would lose what they were owed. And some debts cross national lines, and the US Government doesn’t have control or say-so over those.
Well, I suspect any attempt to do that would be declared unconstitutional, so you’re right, they’d have to do it as an amendment. It would be considered a rescinding of the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” - because most debts are someone’s way of eaning a living, so they be taking away the right to life in that sense. I can’t imagine that ever going over.