So what can you say about this bankruptcy bill?
The Senate assured final passage of the first major overhaul of the nation’s bankruptcy laws in 27 years on Tuesday, when it took two votes that cleared the remaining political obstacles to a measure that the nation’s credit and retail industries have sought for years.
The bill would disqualify many families from taking advantage of the more generous provisions of the current bankruptcy code that permit them to extinguish their debts for a “fresh start.” It would also impose significant new costs on those seeking bankruptcy protection and give lenders and businesses new legal tools for recovering debts.
The Senate on Tuesday first defeated an amendment that would have prevented violent protesters at abortion clinics from using the bankruptcy laws to shield themselves from judgments awarded in civil lawsuits. That amendment, which lost by a vote of 53 to 46, had threatened to derail the legislation. The senators then voted 69 to 31 to limit debate and cut off any effort to kill the legislation by filibuster.
Final passage of the measure is now an inevitable formality.
Well, you can say that we now truly have bipartisan government in this country — that politicos who want to be re-elected from BOTH parties in costly campaigns are worshipping the Godess of Green. People may say “Blogs rock!” but “Credit card companies RULE.”
Our extended thoughts about the issue can be found here.
But this cartoon by John Sherffius via Hoffmania says it all. Make sure you also read Hoffmania’s post here on the issue. Liberal, centrist, conservative? This bill has been denounced by many on ALL sides and defended by people who echo the credit card companies line that people are merely playing the system (or by GWB’s staunchest supporters who will defend anything the President backs).
But that is not to say this is a simple issue. Even among thoughtful centrists who are agonizing over this issue there are differing analyses, such as here and here.
Our view? Congress nixed proposals for more clampdowns on credit card companies, but is going to clamp down on consumers who are lured in and/or milked by some of these companies. If there was a serious desire for reform, the credit card companies would have been reined in. We therefore think that those who back this stand-alone law — from both parties — deserve special consideration at local or national election time.
That’s the time when they go out to see voters. Now is the time when they’re buried deep in a certain industry’s pocket…..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.