On October 17, 2005, the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act,” commonly referred to as “Bankruptcy Reform,” went into effect. “The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention” portion of this law, heavily supported and endorsed by the credit lobby, was designed to eliminate “bankruptcy of convenience,” in order for the financial industry to recoup its losses.
Based upon the belief that the majority of personal bankruptcies are the result of purposefully created credit card debt by people with no intention of repaying it, this legislation ignored the reality that most people who file for bankruptcy do so after experiencing a sudden or severe illness, a job loss, a divorce or other unanticipated crisis.
It is my opinion that the “Consumer Protection” portion of that law placed every American’s financial future at risk by requiring a means test, fee based debt counseling, repayment of at least a portion of the debt, more time and greater expense to file. Additionally, anyone filing under the new law is presumed by the court to be cheating due to the new “presumption of abuse.”
The United States is a country burdened by huge personal debt and no/low or few assets. The web of debt and the lack of assets is a mirror that reflects the values and priorities of our society. It is a web that does not discriminate by age, gender, religion, culture, education or race. It is a web woven by aggressive marketing of credit to people who cannot afford it – an unethical practice that should be against the law, but isn’t.
The cycle of the American “consumerism, credit and debt debacle” has run roughshod long enough. It has victimized and terrorized millions of men and women causing them to lose control of their lives, as well as their money. I think it is time for “Credit Card Reform. What do you think? To comment or to respond to this blog, please e-mail me at // reeta@financialsocialwork.com
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. I welcome your thoughts and reactions. Reeta
