To qualify for this 'Debt Jubilee' their debt must be lower than 35,000 kina which is around $5,000 and their monthly income mustn't exceed 1,250 kina, about $138. And those able to take advantage of their government's generosity will not own any property or have any savings.
Their debts are owed mainly to banks and utility companies and it's expected that the debt jubilee will cost Croatia around $4 billion but on the plus side instead of the majority of the poor's income going to money lenders, it will go to local shops and the boost in retail spending will cause a ripple effect which will increase profits and the government's tax revenues. Very clever.
It's said that going into debt is a way of mining the future for wealth. It may also mean that eventually there is no future...
This is the two thousandth blog post.
