Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: Money

Second Case Study: Credit Card Debt

Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: MONEY 12 Source 6 Somehow, Doris Houston was holding it all together. The Champaign (Ill.) researcher in drug addiction was working full-time and completing a PhD at the University of Illinois. At the same time, she was caring for her teenage son. Then, starting about 2½ years ago, she noticed that her widowed, 84-year-old mother, Anna, who lived in Chicago, was having memory problems. Houston first arranged for family members to stay with her mom. Then Anna suffered a stroke. Although her mother did not want to leave Chicago, Houston felt she had no choice but to bring her to Champaign. Her mother lives with her now, and Houston is juggling parenting, a full-time job, and her role as caregiver . Today more than 30 million Americans are caring for an elderly parent, according to a study by the AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. As the nation ages, elder care is rapidly becoming the biggest family issue facing workers and their employers. According to one study, the value of this unpaid care exceeds $257 billion annually. Caring for aging parents is a responsibility none of us relishes. It can create emotional and financial hardship. You will almost certainly have to take time off from work, and the pressures of elder care can compromise your relationships with spouses, partners, and children. You will also tumble headlong into a world filled with such jargon as activities of daily living, skilled nursing facilities, and Medicaid spend-downs. Howard Gleckman, “When a Parent Needs Help; How to Pull Together an Elder Care Plan That Makes Sense For You, Your Siblings—And Your Parents,” Business Week, July 12, 2004, 89. Second Case Study: Credit Card Debt Jennifer recently graduated from college and began her first job as an administrative assistant at a publishing house. When Jennifer first came to college, several credit card companies actively pursued her and persuaded her to open accounts with them. During the course of her four years in college, Jennifer accumulated considerable debts on these cards, and now receives regular and increasingly threatening letters and calls from the companies. On her salary, she cannot afford to pay off her debts, which are growing rapidly because of high interest charges and penalty fees. Jennifer blames the credit card companies for her predicament, pointing to their predatory promotion on college campuses, their exorbitant interest rates, and their excessive profits. She figures that they will lose track of her now Part I: Case Studies and Jewish Sources 13 that she’s moved to another city and will eventually give up harassing her for payment. However, she worries that she now has a bad credit rating and will be unable to get a mortgage or buy a car on credit in the future. Questions 1. Is Jennifer justified in refusing to pay for her credit card debt? Was she taken advantage of by these companies? 2. Would it make any difference in your assessment if you knew that Jennifer suffers from bipolar illness and that she racked up most of her debt during her manic phases? Do credit card companies have an obligation to withhold credit cards from those incapable of managing their money responsibly? 3. If Jennifer were your friend and confided in you about her predicament, would you advise her to pay her debts, even if that meant depriving herself of the few luxuries she can now afford on her modest salary? If she refused, would you lend her the money? Would you call the companies yourself and give them her new address? Traditional Sources (Note: For traditional Jewish sources relevant to all cases, see pp. 3–6.) 1. Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 22b Whence do we learn that one does not hand a cup of wine to a Nazarite [who has taken a vow to abstain from alcohol] and the limb from a live animal to a gentile [who is bound by the Noahide law, which forbids eating such meat]? Scripture teaches, “You shall not place a stumblingblock before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14). 2. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Lending and Borrowing 2:7 It is forbidden for anyone to lend money [to another] without witnesses. Even lending to a Sage (talmid hakham) [without witnesses] is forbidden, unless one lends on security. And it is still better if the loan is recorded in a document. Anyone who lends money without witnesses violates “You shall not place a stumbling-block before the blind...