As it turns out, NCO wasn’t trying to reach *me*, but I had to go through a lot of annoyance and worry to determine this (they leave largely unintelligible messages on answering machines as well as numbers that don’t work. Nice).

Insider trading–people used to get put in jail for that. Not anymore I guess. Involved in one of the 7 steps was flooding the economy with 1.7 trillion dollars that was just printed to give to Wall Street and in the process further devalue the dollar.

Watch out for that NCO—you know you don’t owe money, so they are BSing you—bastards is right!

Or it might be predatory companies, such as the kind that Greg Palast talks about, here:

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/3/vultures

Palast talks about “Vultures” who buy up debt of countries like Libyria – most likely unethical debts enforced on a country through corruption, I thinking – anyway, these debts are bought up very cheaply by a company and then they try to collect as much money from the country as possible, to make obscene profits.

On a much smaller, yet individually, just as frightening level, it can happen.

I got a call from “NCO Financial” yesterday. It was a message they left – barely intelligible – about “collection” and to call back.

I tried, 3 times. The number is not in service.

Apparently, this company can harrass people and ruin credit scores, by buying up very old debt for pennies on the dollar and then trying to extort a huge amount from the person…..victim…..mark.

As far as I know, I owe NO debt, and I just read on the internet that NCO Financial often lies about what people owe, or they might be looking at a debt of a relative or neighbor.

It’s bogus, but it’s scary, and the government allows sh*t like this to go on all the time.

On the other hand, the internet is powerful (which is why I could find out about the highly dubious practices of NCO Financial).

So, a show such as RoF is also powerful for people – it brings greater knowledge.

I get upset at the idea that we can’t fight any of this, though. Like, just an average person who is worn down from fear, worry and life (moi) – to fight NCO Financial, if they keep harrassing me – could I do it?

That’s why it’s so hard, in these predatory, financially obscene and frightening times to give money, even to worthy causes, but that’s why it’s more important than ever.

Ralph Nader says we need really rich people to change things, and he’s probably right, but on the other hand, we need to be informed, and the government has to be worried about the fact that we are getting informed.

I go back and forth on this. Does information help, if a populace is already so beaten down and scared?

On the ohter hand, w/o information, the “deafening silence” Mike and David referred to will only make our situations more precarious, overall.

Supporting RoF is, probably, a form of insurance against overall corruption that then trickles down into industries like NCO Finanical, who just want to rape people who are already struggling, the lying bastards.