One thing that must be understood is that the Socialist Republic of Juneau did not actually abolish all Life Debts when they ended the Life Debt system. Those people who had low Life Debts made up the powerful middle class of Juneau and did have their Life Debts cleared out in favor of a new start. But it was still possible for people to incur new Life Debts for violating the standards of the Social Credit system. The key difference under the new system is that Life Debts were owed to the people, not to the State, since everything the State provided was now free of charge thanks to the wonders of fabricators and unlimited energy.