Inequality and the Politics of Consumer Debt and Debt Relief

Session Submission Type: Virtual Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Credit, debt, and debt relief are fundamental features of American political economy. But these financial systems have long been stratified, with race, gender, and class influencing the type and cost of credit a person can gain access to, the volume of debt they subsequently incur, and the generosity of the debt relief they may be able to avail themselves of. And from the debtor rebellions of colonial America to the Occupy Wall Street movement of the early 21st century, the stratification inherent in these systems has produced consequential forms of both individual and collective political action. Despite the centrality of consumer debt and debt relief to the political and economic development of the American state and to the everyday fortunes of ordinary Americans, political scientists have not paid sufficient attention to the politics of debt and debt relief. The papers on this panel employ multiple methods to examine the social, economic, and political consequences produced by stratified debt and debt relief policies. They are particularly attentive to the ways that race, class, and their intersections determine whether a person is granted the full financial citizenship necessary to survive and thrive in the U.S. political economy, and how that inclusion or exclusion shapes people’s politics.

The first paper, “Predatory Resources: Race, Class, and the Unequal Political Effects of Debt,” considers how inequalities in the accumulation of predatory versus asset building debt translate to unequal rates of political engagement. The second paper, “Reducing Criminal Justice Debt through Ability to Pay Legislation,” focuses on the inequalities produced by criminal debt and the limits of current debt relief programs to ameliorate those effects. The third paper, “Debtors, Debt Relief, and American Political Development,” addresses the racialized nature of the development of debt relief policy in the United States and its consequences for state building. And the final paper, “COVID-19 and the New Safety Net: Shifting Political Terrain for Federal Debt Relief,” looks to the current moment to explore how the Covid-19 pandemic might change public perceptions of debt relief and offer some hope for the prospects of more expansive debt relief reform.

Sub Unit

• Division 55: Class and Inequality

Individual Presentations

• Predatory Resources: Race, Class, and the Unequal Political Effects of Debt - Mallory E. SoRelle, Duke University

• Reducing Criminal Justice Debt Through Ability to Pay Legislation - Delphia Shanks, Hendrix College

• Debtors, Debt Relief, and American Political Development - Chloe Thurston, Northwestern University; Emily Zackin, Johns Hopkins University

• COVID-19 & the New Safety Net: Shifting Political Terrain for Debt Relief - Serena Laws, Trinity College, Hartford CT

Chair

• Jamila D. Michener Cornell University

Discussants

• Patricia Posey University of Chicago

• Jamila D. Michener Cornell University