'Maxed Out': America's Debt Story
James Scurlock wanted to make the credit card version of Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock's irreverent look at obesity and the fast-food industry in America. His plan was to move about the country and record the absurdity of American spending and consumerism.
But as production moved forward, it became clear that the film would not be so blithe. The first sign that Scurlock's original concept was off base was a trip to New Albany, Ind., where he met Kathi Ballew. Ballew's mother, Yvonne Pavey, had disappeared months before, and soon after, the family discovered that Pavey had fallen into $20,000 of credit card debt. She had committed suicide, her car and body found months later at the bottom of the Ohio River.
"As we started interviewing [Ballew], she just broke down sobbing," says Scurlock. "I realized, wow, this isn't going to be a romp. This could go to a very dark place."
What Scurlock found was that the story was not only about Americans spending too much money. It was also about how vastly the lending industry had changed–from one that had encouraged saving to one that promotes spending. And it was about how consumers have been left behind to pick up the pieces.
The tragic examples are plenty in Maxed Out, which won the special jury prize at the South By Southwest film festival in 2006 and is now out in limited release (along with a book of the same name). There is the widow who is about to lose her house, the Mississippi family talked into giving up its low-interest, government-subsidized mortgage for a far more expensive one, and the two mothers whose college-age children committed suicide after racking up thousands of dollars in debt.
Scurlock, 35, and a Wharton business school dropout, stops short of blaming banks and credit cards outright for these tragedies, but he does believe the system is broken. Most people still think banks are in the business of helping people save, but the industry has evolved, he says. "I don't think the banks are doing a very good job of getting that across."
The banking industry can agree to as much. The banks mentioned in the movie declined to comment. But an official from their trade group, the American Bankers Association, cautiously agreed that the market has changed and that banks' disclosure policies "haven't kept pace."
"Banks are a business, and the commodity we provide is credit," says Ken Clayton, managing director for ABA card policy. "These are important financial tools for people, but we need to do better in educating them."
The U.S. Senate recently held hearings on lending practices related to late fees, interest, and disclosure. Since then, companies like Citi, Chase, and Bank of America have pledged to stop certain practices and re-evaluate the use of others.
This is all good news to Scurlock, who thinks the most significant change must come from banks themselves. "I hope this isn't seen as an 'antibanking' movie," he says. "On the contrary, I think that we very much need a strong, transparent banking system in this country." He just hopes it comes before more lives are devastated by debt.
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