Toggle Menu

Astra Taylor: Your Debt Is Not Your Fault!

Occupy activists are moving debt from the personal to the political. 

The Nation

September 13, 2012

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

Occupy activists are moving debt from the personal to the political.

On April 25, Occupy activists marked "1 T Day": the day US student debt burden reached the massive milestone of $1 trillion. Those not struggling with student loans may be struggling under healthcare debt or massive mortgages. As Occupy evolves from a short-term protest to a long-term movement, some activists see debt becoming the new "tie that binds the 99 percent." In the build-up to Occupy’s first anniversary, journalist and documentary filmmaker Astra Taylor joined Nation editor Betsy Reed to ask the question: if we’re all facing massive debt, why are we still so ashamed of it?

Subscribe to Nation Conversations on iTunes for exclusive audio of Nation editors and writers digging into the topics and issues that shape the magazine. Check back for a new episode each Thursday.

—Christie Thompson

The NationTwitterFounded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.


Latest from the nation