U.S. film shows despair under mountain of debt [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN1535741120070220

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sky-high interest rates on credit cards can make a mountain of debt seem insurmountable. Eventually for some, it is.

An unfortunate minority depicted in the new movie "Maxed Out" finds the burden too great to bare: suicide seems like the only way out.

America's predilection for debt is well documented. U.S. consumers owe over $2.4 trillion, nearly one fifth the size of the total economy. As a country, the United States borrows over $2 billion a day to cover an insatiable demand.

Larger-than-life as they seem, these figures mask individual tales of tragedy and despair, according to "Maxed Out," which gives viewers a peek at moments when indebtedness becomes deadly.

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Yet, rather than discouraging such practices, regulators look the other way.

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