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Session Two:
Living in Borrowed Times
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Session 2
Living in Borrowed Times
Welcome to Session Two!
It is assumed that all participants have attended an Introductory Session and
Session One.
This session is designed to further explore the causes of the 2008 economic
meltdown and the role of debt in our lives.
The key “take away” from this and the next session are that because of economic
and ecological shifts, we are not going back to some Golden Age economic growth
model from the past. From a social point of view, we don’t want to return to debtfueled “bubble economics” and a model of economic growth that widened the gap
between the very wealthy and everyone else. For ecological reasons, we are not
going back to the era of cheap energy.
On some level, most people know this. But as individuals, it is easy to ignore these
trends, especially when most of the larger society and media dismiss them. It is
easy to fall back asleep and presume that “everything will be fine.” An important
missing piece is for people to face these economic and ecological realities together,
in community. Session 2 and 3 are our opportunity to do this.
In this session, we begin to offer up the idea that our social networks and
community can be key resources in building our future security and “new story” of
economic life. This session is designed to strengthen our interpersonal connections
while continuing to respect any participant’s need for privacy.
Facilitator Overview
Theme
“Living in Borrowed Times.”
Objectives
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Reflect on the borrowing in our own lives.
Consider things we can do together to reduce debt.
Understand why “recovery” as defined by the “old story” won’t make us
secure.
Share our disbelief and anger about how our lives have been damaged by
the casino economy.
Identify our hidden strengths and resilience.
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Preparation
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Review the agenda for the second session. Adapt talking points to the
specific needs of your community and host organization.
Copy the handouts for participants and for group use. For a list, see the
Handouts section, below.
Assemble all needed materials.
Optional: Prepare large posters or charts. The step-by-step procedure for
presenting this session contains references to optional charts. The charts
can be posted around the room, or, if you have an easel, they can be
assembled into a flipchart. Using charts is an option and we don’t think they
are required in order to conduct a productive session.
If your group decided at the end of the last session to have a Recipe Swap
Potluck to begin this meeting, consider asking another group member to
make a round of reminder calls.
Materials
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Poster paper or blank flipchart and easel
Markers
Name tags
Blank participant sign-in sheets with space for name, address, phone, and
email.
Handouts
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Participant Agenda (Attachment 2-1)
Read-Aloud: How Did They Get Away With It? (Attachment 2-2) Single copy.
Pass-Around Read Aloud: Living in Borrowed Times (Attachment 2-3)
Single copy.
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Action Ideas: Beyond Debt (Attachment 2-4)
Homework for Session 3 (Attachment 2-5)

Optional: Debt-Related Prayers (Attachment 2-6). If you plan to use something
from this collection, you may want to make enough copies so that everyone
can join in on the responses.
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Summary Agenda
Pre-Meeting Potluck w/Recipe Sharing (if planned)
Gathering and Opening Reflection (5)
Agenda Review and Ground Rules (5)
Sharing Go-Round (15)
Activity: Living in Borrowed Times (60 total)

Common Ground (10)

Read Aloud (5)

Pairs: Reflection (15)

Quick Go Around: Check-in on Debt in our Lives (15)

Next Steps on Debt (15)
Discussion: Stories of Resilience (25)
Next Steps (5)
Closing prayer or reading (5)
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Facilitator’s Detailed Agenda
Gathering with Food
If you decided to hold a pre-session Potluck and Recipe Swap, go around the
table as you are eating and have everyone tell the story of the dish or recipe they
brought.
For example, at one common security club meeting, some of the elders who had
lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s brought dishes they had eaten as
children. “This is Depression Hash,” said one woman about her dish of pasta,
hamburger and tomato sauce. “It’s pretty good, unless you have to eat it seven
days a week.”
Brief Opening Reading or Prayer (5)
Invite a participant to read aloud from the selection listed below:
Gretchen Morgenson: How Did They Get Away With It? (Attachment 2-2)
Welcome and Agenda Review and Ground Rules (5)
Welcome participants back.
Explain that in this session, we are going to continue to examine the causes of the
2008 economic meltdown, and how it has touched us.
The title of this session is Living in Borrowed Times. “Borrowed Times” refers not
only to our personal and national debt, but the borrowing we have done from the
next generation and from the earth’s bounty. We will cover this second kind of
“borrowing” in Session 3.
Distribute the Participant Agenda (Attachment 2-1) and briefly review it.
Remind participants of the club’s Ground Rules.
Sharing Go Around (15)
INTRODUCE the opening go-round:
We just read from G. Morgenson’s piece: How Did They Get Away With It? She
describes people as feeling “voiceless, and powerless…and getting angrier by the
day.”
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First ask yourself: Where in these times do I feel voiceless or powerless? What
makes me angry?
Let’s go around in a circle now and each share briefly.
Facilitator tip: One way to hold a comfortable boundary on the time each person
takes to share is to arrange for a watch with a second hand to be passed
around, travelling behind the person who is speaking. Let’s say you are the
speaker: the person next to you holds a watch, and when a minute has passed,
quietly slips you the watch as a non-verbal cue that you should wrap up your
sharing. You close your thoughts, and then start timing for the next person.
Facilitator Note: This opening go-round of sharing is an important and central
part of the meeting. As time goes on and trust builds, this is when we hear how
people are really doing and what challenges they are facing. Common security
clubs that continue after the initial sessions will often start with a more openended “check-in” and allocate additional time for some individuals to take more
time to share and problem solve.
Activity #1: “Living In Borrowed Times” (60 total)
A. Common Ground (10)
Tell participants that we are going to do a common ground similar to the first
session. Invite participants to stand up in a circle to see where we have common
ground.
Remind participants that you are going to ask a question.
If it’s true for you, take a step or two into the middle. For instance, if you have a pet
at home, step forward. Some of these questions are more personal. If you’d prefer
to keep your privacy about any of them, that’s fine, just don’t step forward. You can
also call out your own questions; just be sure to ask questions that are true for you.
The theme of this common ground is Borrowed Times.
Begin with several questions until others volunteer their own. A list of suggested
questions is included below. Keep the energy up by injecting questions if others
don’t have any. End with several questions on the “lighter side.”
Common ground if you…
Specifically on themes of Borrowed Times.
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Have debt.
I feel like I’m “up to my eyeballs” in debt.
Have more than two credit cards.
I have no credit cards.
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
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Owe more than I own.
I have a car loan.
I have gotten a “pay day loan” or advance on a paycheck.
My bank has charged me overdraft fees.
For homeowners: The bank owns my house (humor).
Homeowner: I have a mortgage on my house.
Homeowner: I might owe more than my house is worth.
Homeowner: I’ve borrowed against the value of my house – a second
mortgage.
Some months I don’t pay off the balance of my credit card.
I’ve renegotiated the fees on my credit cards.
I know people who’ve gone to “Debtors Anonymous.”
I know people in foreclosure or eviction.
I buy stuff I don’t need.
I shop when I’m sad or lonely.
My family expects expensive gifts as a sign of love.
My kids want expensive things.
I don't have money put away for my future or my kids’ future
B. Read Aloud (5)
Invite group members to sit back down. Ask for a volunteer to begin the read-aloud
in Attachment 2-3, Pass-Around Read-Aloud: Living In Borrowed Times, and
have each participant read a paragraph before passing it on to a neighbor.
We are living in borrowed times. When people hear about consumer debt, they
sometimes rush to judgment. They either blame irresponsible individuals for
borrowing too much, or predatory lenders for pushing easy credit and unreachable
dreams. The reality is that both things are true.
Individuals are responsible for their borrowing and consumption choices. At the
same time, there have been structural changes in the economy that have pushed
people into debt as a survival strategy. Our entire culture has shifted in relation to
debt and consumption.
For the last thirty years, real wages (after inflation) have remained flat or actually
fallen for the majority of people in the U.S. So how have we survived? For many
households, part of the answer has been by working longer hours and having more
family members join the paid workforce (including children).
The other way people have survived is by borrowing. We’ve borrowed on credit
cards. We’ve borrowed from Payday Loans and Pawn Shops. Homeowners have
borrowed against the value of their homes.
Some of that borrowing has been to buy more stuff that maybe we didn’t need.
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Many of us have lived beyond our means, thanks to easy credit. But for many,
borrowing has been an economic necessity because of medical costs, broken-down
cars, long commutes to jobs, or caring for needy family members. The number one
cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is unexpected medical costs.
Over the decade prior to the meltdown, the expanding finance industry pushed
“loose money” like a drug. In 2007, credit card companies sent out 6 billion credit
card solicitations. Shady finance companies acted like “debt pushers,” touting the
availability of cheap credit and flexible arrangements. We were encouraged to buy
more, bigger and newer.
Our cultural attitudes towards buying stuff and borrowing have shifted in the last
generation. Our elders remember a time when it was unthinkable to borrow so much
beyond our income. Prior to 1975, borrowing to buy a modest home and maybe a car
was the norm. But it was unusual to borrow money to buy electronics, go on vacation,
or play the stock market. The cultural norm was to “live within one’s means” and buy
mostly durable items that would have lasting benefits.
Of course, this was not true for everyone. There are some of us who have not had
access to easy credit or have chosen to be thrifty. But the national trends are
powerful. Over the last generation, we stopped saving money. Our national
savings rate – the percentage of our annual incomes we save after expenses -went from 11 percent a year in 1983 to a negative 1 percent in 2007.
The good news is that after the 2008 economic meltdown, our national savings rate
started to go back up again. Many people adjusted their spending to live within their
means. But there is enormous pressure to return to our borrowing ways.
C. Sharing In Pairs (15)
Ask the group to move into pairs (or trios) to reflect on a few questions after the
“read aloud” and common ground. You might want to write these questions up on
a flipchart. (Optional Chart)
 What was it like to do the common ground exercise? Any surprises?
 Do you see yourself in the reading?
 What is the role of debt in your own life?
 Are there ways you or those around you have lived beyond your means?
 Have you made adjustments to your personal borrowing?
D. Go Around & Check-in and Question (15)
Ask everyone to go around again and give a one-minute answer to this question: In
what ways do you feel you are or have been living in Borrowed Times? Don’t feel
obligated to reveal anything you feel uncomfortable sharing.
Facilitator tip: Consider using the circulating watch again.
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E. Next Steps On Debt (15)
Circulate the handout: Action Ideas: Beyond Debt (Attachment 2-4)
Review some of the ideas on the sheet. Keep track of things that the group might
be interested in the future. This is a short discussion; you are just asking for initial
impressions.
Discussion questions:


Did you have ideas of things we could do as a club to support one another
around debt?
Do any of these ideas mentioned by others or on the sheet strike you as
useful?
Activity #2: Stories of Survival & Resilience (25)
The discussion now moves from a focus on debt to drawing out stories of how
people have coped with the current economic crisis. The goal is to surface possible
sources of inspiration in our efforts to write a new story of common security.
One or two of these questions may be helpful to draw people out:
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What resourceful things did you, or your parents or grandparents, do to get
through hard times?
Are people doing these things now? Why or why not?
What services are we paying for now that we used to do for ourselves (e.g.
cooking, sewing, making music and other entertainment)?
What are we doing now by ourselves that we (or our parents) used to do in
cooperation with others (e.g. own a car, care for preschool children)?
Close the discussion with these thoughts:



Our common security club is not just about learning. We also want to
explore ways we can act together to build security – and take action.
In Session 3, we’ll look at the ways that Living in Borrowed Times also
includes our borrowing from the earth’s ability to sustain itself and support
life.
In Sessions 4 and 5, we will look at examples of things other common
security clubs are doing to build security. We’ll brainstorm the kinds of
activities our group could undertake.
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Next Steps (5)
Remind the group of a couple of the ground rules for our time together:


Let us know if you won’t be coming to a meeting.
Respect the confidentiality of things shared together in the group. Do not
share anything people said with others.
After consulting with the Food Czar, find out if folks would like to have a potluck
supper at the next meeting.
Enlist volunteers for next meeting: co-facilitator, chart maker, reminder calls,
selecting opening prayers or readings, etc.
Distribute the handout Homework for Session 3 (Attachment 2-5).
Closing (5 min)
Thank everyone for coming and bring the meeting to a close with a cultural activity
appropriate to your group: a song, prayer, secular inspirational reading, etc.
See Debt-Related Prayers (Attachment 2-6) for ideas.
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Session Two:
Handouts and Homework
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ATTACHMENT 2-1
Participant Agenda
Common Security Club
Session 2: Living in Borrowed Times
Gathering and Opening Reflection (5)
Agenda Review and Ground Rules (5)
Sharing Go-Round (15)
Living in Borrowed Times (60 total)

Common Ground (10)

Read Aloud (5)

Pairs: Reflection (15)

Quick Go Around: Check-in on Debt in our Lives (15)

Next Steps on Debt (15)
Discussion: Stories of Resilience (25)
Next Steps (5)
Closing prayer or reading (5)
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ATTACHMENT 2-2
Opening Reading
Session 2: Living in Borrowed Times
How Did They Get Away With It?
Business writer Gretchen Morgenson (in conversation with Bill Moyers), March 26,
2010. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03262010/profile.html
In sunny economic weather the banker readily lends you an umbrella -but then asks for it back when it rains. So now it's raining, and they're
asking for the umbrella back. Yes, there are small business people
who are in a terrible condition. And our heart should out to them and to
all the people who depend on them for employment. America is very
dependent on these small business owners to create jobs, and our
government is dependent on them to provide tax receipts. But the
business owners can't get the loans they need from JP Morgan, from
Citibank, from all of these banks that made all these mistakes. What it
boils down to is that the taxpayers can't get any of their money back -after putting up so many billions to bail out the very banks that now give
them the cold shoulder.
The frustration that a lot of people feel about this lack of real reform,
and about the banks being in control to the point of lording it over
Washington, comes from the realization that there's no effective outlet
for their rage and anger. They don't have a lobbying organization to go
to Congress for them and say, "What about these millions of people
who have lost so much because of these bankster shenanigans? Look
at these millions who have lost their jobs. Look at the millions who've
lost their homes. Look at the millions who have credit card bills on
which they're paying at a 28% interest rate." So people are voiceless
and they feel powerless. And they're getting angrier by the day.
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ATTACHMENT 2-3
Pass-Around Read-Aloud
Session 2: Living in Borrowed Times
We are living in borrowed times. When people hear about consumer debt, they
sometimes rush to judgment. They either blame irresponsible individuals for
borrowing too much, or predatory lenders for pushing easy credit and unreachable
dreams. The reality is that both things are true.
Individuals are responsible for their borrowing and consumption choices. At the
same time, there have been structural changes in the economy that have pushed
people into debt as a survival strategy. Our entire culture has shifted in relation to
debt and consumption.
For the last thirty years, real wages (after inflation) have remained flat or actually
fallen for the majority of people in the U.S. So how have we survived? For many
households, part of the answer has been by working longer hours and having more
family members join the paid workforce (including children).
The other way people have survived is by borrowing. We’ve borrowed on credit
cards. We’ve borrowed from Payday Loans and Pawn Shops. Homeowners have
borrowed against the value of their homes.
Some of that borrowing has been to buy more stuff that maybe we didn’t need.
Many of us have lived beyond our means, thanks to easy credit. But for many,
borrowing has been an economic necessity because of medical costs, broken-down
cars, long commutes to jobs, or caring for needy family members. The number one
cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is unexpected medical costs.
Over the decade prior to the meltdown, the expanding finance industry pushed
“loose money” like a drug. In 2007, credit card companies sent out 6 billion credit
card solicitations. Shady finance companies acted like “debt pushers,” touting the
availability of cheap credit and flexible arrangements. We were encouraged to buy
more, bigger and newer.
Our cultural attitudes towards buying stuff and borrowing have shifted in the last
generation. Our elders remember a time when it was unthinkable to borrow so
much beyond our income. Prior to 1975, borrowing to buy a modest home and
maybe a car was the norm. But it was unusual to borrow money to buy electronics,
go on vacation, or play the stock market. The cultural norm was to “live within
one’s means” and buy mostly durable items that would have lasting benefits.
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Of course, this was not true for everyone. There are some of us who have not had
access to easy credit or have chosen to be thrifty. But the national trends are
powerful. Over the last generation, we stopped saving money. Our national
savings rate – the percentage of our annual incomes we save after expenses -went from 11 percent a year in 1983 to a negative 1 percent in 2007.
The good news is that after the 2008 economic meltdown, our national savings rate
started to go back up again. Many people adjusted their spending to live within
their means. But there is enormous pressure to return to our borrowing ways.
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ATTACHMENT 2-4
Action Ideas: Beyond Debt
Common security clubs can be a place where we support one another to get
our personal financial situations in better shape. Below are some of the
activities that clubs have done to support one another.
1. Assess Your Debt
Take inventory of your debt. Is your debt a serious issue? Take the confidential
Debtor’s Anonymous quiz to assess your situation.
http://www.debtorsanonymous.org/help/questions.htm
2. Know Your Debt
Car loans, credit cards, pay day loans, home mortgages…late fees, overdraft fees.
Look over the homework from the previous session. There were a number of
resources about different dimensions of debt. Take a closer look at that list.
3. Create a Budget and Keep Track
Even for those of us who feel we “live within a budget,” it’s always a good idea to
once a year actually develop a budget. Sometimes tracking expenses for a month
in a small notebook helps us remember all the hidden expenses and fees we don’t
include in a budget. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has a nifty
budget worksheet in English and Spanish. Visit:
www.nfcc.org/FinancialEducation/monthlyincome.cfm
4. Budget Makeover
Many ongoing clubs do problem solving and brainstorm for their members. One
common approach is humorously called a “budget makeover” (feel free to call it
something different). A club member volunteers to share information about their
personal financial circumstances and brainstorm ideas. They prepare a budget that
includes income, major expenses, and debts. They could pass out their
confidential budget as part of this discussion – and collect those copies at the end
of the session to protect their confidentiality.
5. Renegotiate with the Big Boys
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Many people are paying high credit card fees or have poor credit ratings.
Sometimes a late payment might trigger a higher interest rate, etc. But there is
important room for negotiation with credit card providers – to press them to cancel
or reduce fees.
A poor credit rating makes it difficult and expensive to borrow for necessary items
like a car or home. There are things we can do to repair one’s credit rating – and
correct mistaken information on rating forms.
Listen to this wonderful episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross interviewing
Elizabeth Warren about Credit Reports and Credit Rating Agencies:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92049490
6. Set Goals around Debt
Based on looking at your own budget and talking with other club members, you
might want to set some personal goals around debt. These could include:
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Setting budget goals and tracking expenses.
Paying off existing credit cards.
Meeting with a credit counselor.
Stop carrying a monthly balance on your credit card.
Cutting up some or all of your cards.
Attending a meeting of Debtor’s Anonymous.
Use cash more for purchases.
Whatever goals you set, you can state them publicly and use the club’s “check-in”
time to report on how things are going.
7. Get More Help: Debt Counseling or Debtors Anonymous
It may be that you need more help than your common security club can provide.
But your club can support you to get that help. There is a national network of credit
counselors who can help you do intensive problem solving.
Debtors Anonymous is a national network built on the voluntary and free peer
assistance model of Alcoholics Anonymous. From their web site you can view
tools and find local meetings. Visit: http://www.debtorsanonymous.org/
8. Social Action: Consumer Protections
The financial services industry has used their considerable political clout to stack
the deck against consumers. Recent legislation providing for the creation of a
financial reform agency will begin to chip away at this. But the reality is, we still
need greater consumer protections and regulation of the financial sector. The
Common Security Club Network can keep you posted on timely actions we can
take.
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9. Your Money or Your Life
The Common Security Club Network has developed a special session for clubs that
taps into the marvelous book and curriculum called Your Money or Your Life. The
9-Step programs supports you to:
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
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Explore your relationship with money.
Understand better the relationship between money and values.
Begin to discover what is “enough” for you.
Change habits and initiate major life changes.
The module can be downloaded at:
http://commonsecurityclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/introymoyl.pdf
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ATTACHMENT 2-5
Homework for Session 3
HOMEWORK FOR SESSION 3
In the next session, we’re going to look at the larger ecological context for the
present economic meltdown.
Required Reading
The Waking Up Syndrome. Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell, HopeDance
Magazine. http://tinyurl.com/25r6bw
Optional Videos
Some possible videos and resources you might examine in advance:

The Story of Stuff. Annie Leonard. 20 minutes.
www.storyofstuff.com

Peak Oil and Financial Crisis. Richard Heinberg. YouTube. 4 minutes.
www.tinyurl.com/b6mnnd

The Overspent American. Juliet Schor. YouTube. 4 minutes.
www.tinyurl.com/alo4w7

Addiction to Consumerism. Sally Erickson. YouTube. 3 minutes.
www.tinyurl.com/ajrx82

Affluenza. (excerpt) YouTube. 8 minutes.
www.tinyurl.com/ckxvgj
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ATTACHMENT 2-6
Prayers Related to Debt
HUMOR: SHOPPING ADDICT PRAYER
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot afford and not try to buy
them anyway; [the] courage to change my mind about something I don’t really like
and just take it back or leave it in the store to begin with; and [the] wisdom to know
the difference between items that are worth the expense and items that should only
ever be bought out of season, on super sale or at Target.
http://www.debthacker.com/the-debt-serenity-prayer/
A PRAYER SEEKING GUIDANCE
Lord God, your will is to bring hope and a future to all your people.
Trusting in your steadfast love,
we ask your guidance as we work out a household budget.
Help us to learn to let no debt remain outstanding,
except the debt to love one another,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
VERSES FROM PSALM 139
O Lord, you have searched me out and known me;
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark out my journeys and my resting place
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Where can I go then from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead me,
your right hand hold me fast.
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A PRAYER FOR WISE FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP
Lord Jesus Christ,
by taking human flesh you sanctified material things
to be a means of your grace;
grant us wisdom in our attitude to money,
and a generous heart in the use of the resources entrusted to us,
that by faithful stewardship we may glorify you. Amen.
PRAYERS FOR THOSE WISHING TO WORK OUT A HOUSEHOLD BUDGET
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/prayers/#financial