The number of American troops who have had their security clearances revoked because they are too deeply in debt has increased nine-fold in the past five years. The US government, desperate for soldiers to send into fighting, has decided that mountains of plain old consumer debt present enough danger that these people cannot be sent to fight.
The military says it has two fears: indebted soldiers selling secrets to the enemy or soldiers, although loyal, who don’t have their heads in the game. Why aren’t other American employers worried about the same issue? People deep in debt may do bad things to try to save their families or they just may not be able to concentrate on their jobs if they are worried sick about foreclosures or debt collection calls.
Andy Stern and the Warren Report bloggers have been laying the foundation for a realignment of interests in which employers recognize that they need a national health care system as much as their employees do. I want to go one step further: Employers also have a very real stake in the rising level of consumer debt.
Workers who are deeply stressed financially may not be as effective as their more secure counterparts. They may have more accidents, or they may be more susceptible to theft or bribery. The military certainly thinks so. Are other employers worried? A small number of subprime lenders has raked in billions of dollars in profits in the past few years. At Warren Reports, we talk about how those profits have come at the expense of hard-working families. But the military reminds us that employers throughout the economy may be paying the price as well. When Congress next thinks about regulating lending practices, perhaps consumer advocates should be joined by the Chamber of Commerce.
