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Bloggers Unite Against New Bankruptcy Legislation -- I Disagree
by Whym Rhymer
Originally posted to BNN 3/11/2005

This story at deseretnews.com: Senate OKs bill making it harder to file for bankruptcy provides a good balanced look at the new Bankruptcy legislation that passed the Senate yesterday.

High profile bloggers are gathering their forces -- apparently from both sides of the blogosphere -- to protest this new legislation. On the right, Glen Reynolds at Instapundit points to a cross-blogosphere coalition" in opposition to the bankruptcy bill.. Meanwhile on the Left: trevino of Redstate.org calls the bill a "breach of faith."

Granted, this stinks of the work of lobbiests for the Credit Card companies but, if you read about the actual bill, while ignoring the hype and the conspiracy theories, the bill looks fair. This quote is from the deseretnews.com article:

"Under the new income test, those with insufficient assets or income could still file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which if approved by a judge, erases debts entirely after certain assets are forfeited. But those with income above the state's median income who can pay at least $6,000 over five years � $100 a month � would be forced into Chapter 13, where a judge would then order a repayment plan.

About 70 percent of the people who file for bankruptcy now do so under Chapter 7, while the other 30 percent or so fall under Chapter 13, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute."



The most important point to remember, at least in my opinion, is the concept of Individual Responsibility. If we can pay our bills we should -- if we are irresponsible enough to spend more than we earn, we should pay it back if at all possible (that goes for the U.S. Government too). Granted, it's not always irresponsible spending that brings us to that point -- medical emergencies can be costly and I'd really like to see the final legislation take that into account.

On a personal note, I've been there. I was irresponsible and was forced to take a bankruptcy -- that was over 20 years age -- I'm still paying for it. Well I should be paying for it! If I don't pay for it, you can believe that, in one way or another, YOU'LL be paying for it.

Whym Rhymer blogs at Whymrhymer 101.

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