“Disposable Income” A Pound of Flesh

“Disposable Income.” What a perverted misnomer. Does no one think before coining a phrase and then unleashing it into American vernacular? Not only is it not what it says it is, apparently the people that use it are unable to agree to what it should mean. I’m not going to go into technical definitions. I’ll be certain to fall comatose at the keyboard and bruise myself. My point is that the term is a slippery little bastard that will inevitably be used against you in some form of legal plunder.

Let’s say you are involved in a severe car accident and an ambulance picks you up and takes you to a hospital. Then, while attempting to recover, you get the ambulance bill for, say, $4000. (It was just a little jaunt down the highway that should have cost maybe $1000 if you were feeling generous; but they, like every other medical “caregiver” get to make up the bills as they go along because you are in no shape to argue. Lucky them, you are in pain or unconscious. And woe unto you if they took you via helicopter.) So, you get this inflated monstrosity of a bill along with about 30 others because everybody wants to profit from your misfortune as much as possible. Let’s say you earn an average American salary which is around $46,000 per year. And let’s say you have a spouse and children. It’s going to be damn difficult to pay all 31-ish medical debts at the same time. You can call them and ask for patience. Some will work with you and some won’t. You can write to them but unfortunately the literacy rate has fallen so dramatically many won’t know what a letter is much less what it means. (I kid you not.) While you’re attempting to sort invoices out and pay the debts to your best ability, lo and behold, the lawyer enters the scene, sues you, wins, blights your credit score (shame on you for getting in an accident), then garnishes your wages based upon … “disposable income.”
They can (and will) take 25% of your “disposable income.” At face value a logical person might think disposable income is what is available after you’ve paid not only your taxes, but your mortgage/rent, utilities, food, etc. One might think that disposable income is what is left over after necessities have been paid and can be disposed of at one’s own discretion to eat at a restaurant or go to a movie or buy a CD. No. That would be logical. We are dealing with immoral opportunists here. For debt collection purposes “disposable income” is your entire net pay.

Let’s say from your income of $46k/year you bring home $3000 per month for your family of four to live on. (This is a national embarrassment already.) Even without any car, credit card, or student loan debt your bills, groceries, and gas alone will run a conservative $2500 depending upon your location, etc. This doesn’t begin to address the other medical debts waiting in the wings (probably preparing to sue you as well). Once they take 25 percent of your net pay you will be left with about $2250 per month. They’ve put you in a corner. Decisions must be made. Do you not pay the rent or mortgage and become homeless? Do you not pay the car insurance or put gas in the car and lose your employment? Do you not pay gas, phone, electricity, water, or heating bills? What’s left? Food and possibly medications. What’s it going to feel like when you look your family in the eyes and tell them your food budget has been cut 40 PERCENT for several months? Garnishment in situations like this literally takes food from children. (Of course with an income of $46k/year you can’t get food stamps so fuck you and yours.)

Nice system we’ve got, eh? And quite the career path that the debt collectors and their lawyers have chosen. I wonder if, as children, they aspired to be evil and prey on the pain and misfortune of others or they just fell into it by default – unable to earn an honest, respectable living and quite happy that legal doesn’t mean right.

I take great comfort in the universal law that you reap what you sow. It makes me very, very happy … gleeful in fact because I’ve never seen this law violated. I could write a book. (Maybe I will.)

To all you people (and corporations, governments and whatever entity you fester within) who prey on the innocent, do know that the money taken from them will rot your soul and eat your flesh so when your tragedy arrives remember that you planted the seeds for it yourself and I’ve rejoiced at your reaping. It might not be today or tomorrow. It might be decades from now but your crop of misery will indeed come in fruitful and multiplied. While blessings will rain in abundance on those who have sowed love, compassion, peace and beauty. It’s already a done deal.