[adekok]

> This article needs more information to explain how something so completely irrational-sounding could arise.

It's simple: they don't pay their bills, so we have to punish them.

Does the choice of punishment affect their ability to pay? LA LA LA we don't care.

That's what's going on.

It's the same for other debts:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-go-...

https://splinternews.com/how-our-racist-child-support-laws-h...

> Is this, like, a case of the government having the wrong incentives, needing more to look tough than to actually recover their money?

The government (to some extent) expresses the will of the people In the US and Canada, most people have expressed strong support for such debtors prisons. Largely in the belief that it will never happen to them.

[vijayr]

This is an exceptional case of cruelty - imagine spending years learning a craft (and spending thousands and thousands of dollars for it) and one fine day, not being able to use it anymore. It is even more worse in cases of healthcare professionals, as the aging population needs all the help it can get. No-one benefits at the end. I really wish we put common sense and compassion before commerce.

[YokoZar]

This isn't even a case of putting commerce first. We're hurting commerce here too.