Mar 04, 2005 -- New bankruptcy law unfair and corrupt
Did you know that 1.56 million families filed for bankruptcy in 2004? That is roughly one in 68 or 69 families. It’s down about three percent from 2003, but it’s still pretty high. People file for all kinds of reasons including medical problems and divorce. But the starting point is usually the level of debt we carry. And there is always another lender willing to lend us money. It’s about to get even more precarious now that Congress is about to enact a law that targets the middle class specifically. Essentially, the middle class will no longer be able to “set aside” debts in bankruptcy. They’ll have to have a repayment plan. Chapter 7, which wipes debt clean, will still be available to the lower economic classes. But the clincher is the provision for the very wealthy. The millionaire provision sets up an “asset protection trust” that will make it possible for people to keep their possessions and assets and never have to pay a penny back. In other words, middle class folks will have to pay back most of their debts, but wealthy people can have their slate wiped clean. It’s simply not right and it’s not any kind of reform. In fact, it’s theft. It’s basically taking money from one class to benefit another. Clark wonders who has been bought off to make this happen, and he hopes someone puts a stop to it out of sheer embarrassment.
