Imagine this: You’re living in Europe, Croatia to be specific.

Croatian beach

Except, not only are you terribly poor, you’re in debt.

So probably more like this

You owe thousands with no feasible way of paying the money off. And not only is there no realistic way out, your debt is accumulating. What would you do….

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…If the Croatian government suddenly offered you a way out! They’re going to pay off your debt- free of charge! After months of carrying around the worry, stress, and burden of an exorbitant fee hanging over your head- you are quite literally free!

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And it’s not just you experiencing this unprecedented miracle; the Croatian Government is doing this for 60,000 others of the nations poorest people. You’ve all been given another chance, life granted you a miracle you never saw coming!

But why?

Well, in an effort to jumpstart the nation’s economy, the nation’s poorest citizens are being offered a “fresh start.” Compared to the U.S., Croatia is a relatively tiny country with only 4.4 million citizens. As a result, 60,000 is a significant portion of the population. In fact, the program will give bank account access to about 20 percent of the 317,000 Croatians whose accounts were frozen in July last year due to debts.

An estimate from the news agency Reutors states that the initiative could cost as much as 309 million dollars!

Hopefully (well hopefully for Croatia) the program will get consumers spending again now that their bank accounts are unfrozen. The unorthodox idea was approved by Croatia’s left wing government on January 15th.

Zoran Milanovic

Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic proudly stated that no previous government has taken such an action before. As he told a cabinet session, “This is the first time that any (Croatian) government is trying to solve this difficult problem and we are proud of it.” The encouraging measure is intended as an attempt “to make people’s lives easier in this protracted and strenuous crisis and give them a chance for a fresh start.”

Whether the initiative will be successful is widely debated. In fact, some believe that the entire measure is only in response to upcoming elections. Others believe that despite the government’s attempt otherwise, Croatia will still need to go the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a financing and policy backstop.

Luckily, my blog isn’t about the potential negative, it’s about the undeniably positive things that happen on a daily basis in the world. And for a hopelessly poor person being offered a way out of the endless cycle of poverty; this act is undeniably positive.

Sometimes its important to take a step back from potentially shady motives (upcoming parliamentary elections) and potential failures (going to the IMF) and look at the big picture. Citizens lives are being changed for the better and a government successfully accomplished something. That’s a solid win.

For more information about Croatia’s daring plan click here