5 of my credit cards just went up ,all with the same bank mbna how they got 5 of my account is a long story of banks buying out bank ect the long and short of it is i have never missed a payment never been late but they saw fit to go up to 28% raising the payment from 206 to 349 with the interest more than the payment i use to pay. and they call themselves helping mw

By all reports from clients of mine, the credit counselling is a joke. I view the new rules as yet another stumbling block thrown in the way of a debtor's constitutional right to file for relief from debts. A debtor who was already hardpressed to come up with previously high filing fees is now pinched even harder by the double whammy of counselling costs and higher filing fees. Credit card companies win by keeeping more debtors on the treadmill of the banks' devise.

Why don't credit card companies get lender counseling? Know the risk before you lend money and don't lend anything you cant afford not to get back.

Holy God. This is why all of us libertarians would like to just push all you Liberals and conservatives into a jet and send you to Iran or whatever. You drone on about the big scary corporations and the activists taking over America; well, you let them take it over! You're all in bed with them! Every time a new president is elected, more of America goes to hell. The bankruptcy law at least injects some sanity into our society, even if it just scares the majority of us. The main reason why AMericas are going bankrupt is because we have departed from our libertarian and egalatarian beginnings. Every time you invite weird politics and crooked judges and lawyers in, guess what? THe country ends up looking like eastern Europe before 1991.

First of all, if credit counseling / management / consolidation is so great, why is there a class action in the US District Court of MD, SOuthern Division, against Debticated Consumer Counseling, Inc. et all? (Case No. 8:04-cv-00631PJM). Second, yes, it is the consumer's responsibility to pay the debts incurred voluntarily and knowlingly. However, there are events, unforeseen and upon which one has no control, that can force a person to seek bankruptcy protection. After 20 years of marriage, my husband left me, and did not make any financial contributions to me or his teenage son. Shortly after that, my job made me part -time (I have a BS in engineering and a masters degree. I had to take a part time job in retail for a mere &7.20 /hr to help me make ends meet. Now the divorce is final, since my son is 18 his father is not required to pay child support, but as anybody knows, an 18 year old still needs love AND financial support. (My debt is <25,000 dollars). I have not filed bankruptcy yet, but if it came to that, I will do so without shame, but a heavy heart. This is not what I envisioned.

People, look at the example our government has set for us. We have to hold them to the same standards, but I don't think that will happen in my life and I'm not that old. What will the deficit be when I'm sixty? I bet that the President doesn't have any credit issues or the big business congress. Their bills are paid for by us, Haliburton, and oil price increases. I was baited by many credit card companies and I'm responsible for that debt. I'll make it out of this, but I was taken advantage of by these companies that have no remorse for lending me twice my salary at 10 to 24%. What about lower limits on interest rates, or a margin that still floats above prime, but not the gap that is allowed now.We would never see it! Also, the three credit bureaus suck! I have been in mortgage lending and have seen thousands or credit reports, errors abound. Who monitors this? My guess, no one. I'm not angry because I believe everything always works out. Although, if I were CEO of the greatest country, poor decisions would lead to my firing. And a new election would be held. But I can't effect anything with my vote, when things go wrong don't blame me.
Geoff, New Oleans, LA

I'll personally never have another credit card. Debit cards work just fine where a card is required. Otherwise if I can't afford it, I don't need it. The Banks and Credit companies are not getting another dime of my hard-earned money unless absolutely necessary (mortgages are still better than rent). If they do away with debit cards or start charging to use them... then merchants had better start accepting cash again, at least from me, or it's "no sale".

It is a very scary thing when the same organizations and individuals which own the banks and credit card companies and have unlimited access to elected officials in Washington, are allowed to continue to flood the general masses with credit they cannot afford and should not have in the first place. I believe the emphasis should be more on money management education and proper credit usage. Day after day, more of the general population become financial slaves to the Banks and Credit card companies. If more responsibilty and stricter criteria was used when offering credit cards to the masses, maybe there would not be the ever increasing sea of Bankruptcy taking place. I also feel that morals in this country are lacking. What ever happened to "pay back what you borrowed", no matter what or don't borrow it in the first place. It seems that no one is responsible for anything they do any more. Everything is disposable, including debt. That puts the burden of paying back others bad debt on those of us who are honest and responsible with our money. How did our "highly educated" elected officials allow this to get this far? Maybe it is the stock in the financial sector that they own?

I have to add to my message after reading many messages stating that "When you sign on the line you agree to pay back the debt"...I agree with that, but that is only my half of the obligation...Theres also an obligation on the side of the credit card companys too.
Thats where I have a problem...When you sign on the line you may be agreeing to pay the debt at maybe 6 or 8 percent. If you flip the agreement over you will see the whole page filled with extremely fine print that is also very pale in color.
This is where the credit card companies screw us over.
Why do you think the text is so small, all running together and so pale you can barely read it? Not to mention that you need a lawyer to interpret it. Its because they don't really want you to read it because its loaded with disclaimers that allow them to double or even triple the interest rates for basically any reason. Suppose you owed 200 dollars interest on your debt. Then you are one day late paying some other creditor. The next thing you know, your interest rate has doubled and you now owe 400 dollars on your debt. The credit card company just made 200 dollars because you were a day late paying some other creditor...thats screwed up! First of all there should be a grace period for payments. There are a million reasons for a payment to arrive a day late.
Secondly, why should one creditor penalize you when you've never been late paying them? There is no rules for the creditors, but there are rules the debtor. Thats not right. Fine print should be illegal. If a credit card can up the interest rate whenever they want then it should be in bold on the front of the agreement.

Let's all take responsibility for our own actions. While some situations are unavoidable, most are not. For instance, no one makes us use a credit card...a debit card will work just fine (in the absence of cash in hand). Work two jobs, three if you have to, just to save up for that "emergency fund" because as well all know, the questions is not "if" it's going to rain, the question is "when". My life insurance is a/an HSA (google: HSA or Health Savings Account). With a/an HSA my health insurance premiums went from $250 per month to $85 and I have the benefit of a Section 179 account; we carry a $1 million umbrella policy for only $130 per year; we're good drivers so get a good drivers discount; I carry 1/2 million in life insurance (I'm rated at the top because I don't smoke and otherwise try to take care of my health since I'm pay ALL my own bills). Shop around, compare and don't be afraid to drop a service/product just because you purchase it from Uncle Harry--just because he sells it doesn't mean it's good for you. Be prepared...because "life happens".

The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service lets you opt out of receiving direct mail marketing (including credit card offers) from many national companies for five years. When you register with this service, your name will be put on a “delete” file and made available to direct-mail marketers. However, your registration will not stop mailings from organizations that are not registered with the DMA’s Mail Preference Service. To register with DMA, send your letter to:

Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512

Or register online at www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html.

Will Donald Trump have to go to credit counseling the next time he files for bankruptcy? A law of this type is justified by the number people who abuse bankruptcy. The law that is now in effect is not the answer.

It's a real shame to watch this country go down the tubes like this...I have a freind who always said "It's still the greatest country in the world!"
Maybe, but its not nearly as great as it was, and getting worse by the second. Credit card companies shouldn't be allowed to flood every mailbox with pre-approved offers for credit cards. They are taking a chance when they do that. I mean, I wouldn't walk up to a complete stranger and ask them if they would like me to loan them some money, and hope they paid me back! Now its like a win win for them. Plus, after you get the card they have endless excuses for raising the interest rate, like checking your credit rating regularly and raising the rate if you are late with a payment to some other creditor! Its fair game in this country to get money from people by any means. Its all good, and us working people pay for it. Big corporations can outsource jobs to widen thier profit margin because labor is cheaper overseas, but I can't go to Canada and buy pharmaceuticals because they are cheaper up there.

I found your article to be a little misleading. Yes Debtors must first see a credit counseling agency before they file the petition, however, it must be one of the approved credit counseling agencies by the UST's office. If a Debtor comes in with a certificate from a credit counseling agency, it is my understanding of the new Code that it must be from one of the approved agencies or they may not file the petition with the Bankruptcy Court. That is for a pro se Debtor. If an "assisted person" seeks assistance (otherwise-an attorney)the attorney will then lead the "assisted person" in the right direction, such as the credit counseling. Also, the UST's office is keeping 6 month contracts with these credit counseling agencies, so if after 6 months, they are not complying, the contracts will not be renewed. So while you think this new law is throwing "debtors to the wolves" you did forget to leave out those key pieces to the new law.

What amazes me here are all of the people asking when did this pass and where was the news coverage before on this topic.

America, this new legislation has been waiting approval since 1998 under President Clinton's administration, but it has taken until now for the powers that be to agree on the final revision of the verbage and rules contained within the law.

Clinton wasn't opposed to the changes during his administration, nor was Bush now -it has been a law long awaiting change on behalf of those that lend money - our banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, etc.

It also wasn't a Republican/Democrat initiative, but lending-backed lobbyists pushing the bill through Congress via their contacts amongst both parties and it has taken seven years to change the laws for a Chapter 7 filing.

Why don't you all research your State elected Congressional leaders and see how they voted on this topic since 1998 - this will tell you the full story on how this even got to Congress and then onto the President.

I will also refer you to a great story about lenders and debtors by William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice a.k.a Shylock.

Whatever happened to usury laws? It seems to me that 29% should fall into that realm. I’ve been a responsible debtor for over 30 years, which counts for nothing. We ran into some financial problems and could not pay the credit card companies on time for a few months. Without hesitation, they raised their rates to near 30% and would not back off no matter how hard I tried to negotiate. Well, because of the higher rates, it just became impossible to ever pay them back. I also lost my job during this time period. So, I had to file for chapter 7, even though I would have rather paid them back… AT A FAIR RATE! So, in my opinion, the credit card companies were largely to blame for my filing chapter 7. Had they truly been willing to work with me and took my 30 year excellent credit history in to account, perhaps they would have been repaid. Speaking of handling debt responsibly, has anyone noticed what the current administration has done to the national debt?

come on all you guys complaining that the REPUBLICANS and Bush did this to you!!!! Who charged up the debt and who can't repay it now??? YOU!!!! If you don't charge more than you can repay, you won't be affected by the law, right???
Medical bills or some unforseen change in income, excepted of course. Don't blame us for your not being responsible in your home finances. If you don't want to take responsibilty for your own actions, move out of my GREAT Country and go to some socialist country like England or Europe.
Don't spend more than you can repay and you won't have to worry about the law, its that SIMPLE!!!!!!!
If you don't need it, (which you usually do NOT), right away don't buy it, and for God's sake, put the plastic away and leave it there. Simple - even for your simple minds.

I jaoined a Credit Coiunseling Service 3 years ago. My credit card bills were not huge I just wanted to stop before they did get too large. I have been paying and have 2 compaines paid off.

I am quite happy with my service. I think that any consumer has to do their homework when it comes to making the decision as to which Credit Counselor to use. The best resource I have found is the BBB. I feel it's the consumers responsibility to check these things out before they turn their money over to someone.

D. Beck : Try a check card. Convenience of a credit card but it is tied to your checking account so you can’t spend money you don’t have but it bears a logo like Visa or MasterCard so you can use it anywhere your logo is accepted and most banks give them to you as part of your checking account these days. And by the way, as part of the working class (although college educated with 130K of school dept to show for it -- so does that make me rich or middle class I've become a little confused apparently only rich people pay their bills and hold health insurance according to this form but I don’t have a car or a boat or a plasma TV), I don’t feel like the new bankruptcy law keeps me from being able to pay my bills -- just hopefully keeps others paying them or at least attempting to.

This really is horrible, and it further empowers the unethical and vulture-like credit counseling industry to take advantage to those who are in unfortunate circumstances. What a crock!

Try buying anything not local to you, renting a car, making travel arrangements without a credit card and you'll find that buying on credit (paying interest on all purchases) has become the American way. Sadly, like so many have stated before, this starts early with little consideration given to financial education or even ability to pay back. I refuse to use credit cards and this limits me, but I have learned there are a LOT of things I can do without.
This country is being brought to its knees and our government is patting itself on the back for it.
Go ahead, take out the working class...let's see the rich pay taxes without us.

I dont blame on the president I blame the credit card issuer to allure us with more credits you know this is a big bussines for banks.

I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney. I HATE this law. Every attorney I know who practices in this area, whether for debtors or creditors, thinks it is a joke. There are so many ways this law is bad, I could not begin to list them all. Here are a few thoughts.

I will have to charge more to deal with the ridiculous burdens placed on debtor's attorneys. This is not the result of collusion between the bar and Congress. I organized a meeting several years ago with our local representative, with attorneys from both sides, to tell him how bad it was. He totally blew us off.

The claim of widespread fraud in the bankruptcy system is and was a lie, a propaganda campaign paid for by credit providers. The system was perfectly capable of dealing with abusers, and did not need to be "fixed".

I especially enjoyed the statistic, repeated ad naseum, that bankruptcies were costing the average American consumer $600.00 per year. First of all, bankruptcy does not cause credit default; credit default causes bankruptcy. Whatever loss is there simply exists. Bankruptcy only serves to formalize the nonpayment. Second, the market is MUCH smarter than that. I have a mortgage at 6%; I recently got an unsecured loan from my local bank to buy a phone system for my office, again at 6%. The fact is that we have the lowest primary interest rates in over a generation, at the same time that we have the highest number of bankruptcies. Conclusion? Those at risk of default are paying the cost of default. Those not at risk are not.

Politaclly, I am sorry, but this is not a partisan issue. Virtually every Democrat in the Congress voted for this thing, too. It is clear that the tens of millions the credit industry spent to buy this law was enjoyed on both sides of the aisle. The whole Congress should be ashamed. And if they can't do better than this, they should all be shortly unemployed.

I was a "debt counselor" once. No experience necessary. I took telephone calls and was paid commision to get people onto the "debt-management" program. In actuality very few people actually benefitted from the program. I quit the job because I thought it was just a scam to put people on a program like that.

I have recently paid off all my credit cards. My husband and I do not have great credit but these fools keep sending more and more offers in the mail each day. This is what I now do. I tear it up in pieces and write somewhere on the letterhead, Hell no! and return it in their pre-post paid envelope. Don't cost me anything, don't know how much it effects them. I also will not be trying to buy anything so right now it will be just live on what we have and save or use lay away. That's it! I hate this new BK law. Have never filed and if we had to don't know what we would do.

My understanding is that this new law also makes it harder for companies to use bankruptcy to eliminate pension benefits. That clearly is a good thing for the working class people. It doesn't benifit the rich as some would have you believe.

My husband and I had insurance... very good insurance and we paid dearly for it for many years. All it took was one horrible medical crisis and even our 20 % copayment was out of our reach. We applied to hospital and doctors for some sort of relief and were met with garnishment of our meager paychecks. The people in the medical accounting office and their legal office knew we made less than 20,000 per year and it didn't seem to matter. Bankruptcy was the only way to clear our debt. Thank goodness we filed before the new law went into effect or we would have still been paying half of our salary to the hospital attorny and not being able to cloth and feed our 3 kids.

I don't know if the average American consumer realizes how drastically the economic landscape has changed in the last 24 months. And the goal is total control of each individual American through fine-tuned economic means never before achievable. While Americans are still chasing the mostly elusive carrot of the "all American dream" -- and mindlessly driving themselves into debt -- the control vise is being tightened at an ever alarming rate through the use of economic tools playing off of your average American's lust for things.

Like the proverbial frog slowly cooked in water at an incremental rate, look at what is happening in the financial world. Look at the cost of cars, gas (where we recently were "readjusted" in our thinking to feel $2.50 for a gallon of gas is GOOD), groceries, energy (natural gas and electric) and housing. And few Americans realize now that through the use of low cast credit rating products thrown at vendors, everything and anything in our society can and is being tied to your credit score. Ever heard of "universal default?" One hiccup in your repayment patterns or ability to make timely payments and you may come to find out how quickly you can begin to spiral downward. This is to say nothing of the debt America itself owes. (Ask yourself, how can a government "owe money?" To whom does it owe this money?)

So it's no surprise that the recent backrupcy laws were enacted and seem to "unfortunately catch" many Americans who DO need this avenue in the net of those they "indended" to catch. The fact is, there exists malicious intent and hidden agenda behind the innoculous reasons that we are fed and led to believe. The full intent is entrapment and control of every American through economic means. And the recent and so-called banrupcy laws are a very big and long planned step in that direction. Played in concert with everything else, Americans are being financially raped and few of us even realize it's even happening.

It seems to me that based on the responses people have posted to this forum that a large number of bankruptcy filings are due to unforseen medical expenses. Instead of shooting these people in the head as a previous poster suggested, perhaps a better idea might be for our country to take a serious look at nationalizing health care. With $+600 a month COBRA payments, $350,000k bills for sick children, elderly folks that must make desperate choices between medicine and food, it is obvious that there is a problem in our society with health care system and the associated costs. Everyone should be entitled to health care. PERIOD. Whether young, old, black, white, yellow- whatever... When your parent, your child, your spouse etc is ill, the first thing on your mind should not have to be "how am I going to pay for this?".

To the posters that believe the credit card industry is out of control, take a look at our health care industry/insurance industry that has put people in this situation in the first place.

Not one credit card company, auto finance company or credit union [the big three industry groups that pushed this legislation, and paid for it] has ONE vote.
If folks don't like what Congress did to them, then (a) find out how their Senators and Congressmen voted, (b) get all of their friends and family to write those persons, giving them until the next election to repeal the changes, and (c) if the law is not repealed, then (i) actively campaign against those persons, or (ii) don't complain, because it is you that is keeping those (Republicans and Democrats both) in office.

Great article, spot on with respect to the credit counseling industry, which is nothing more than a giant collection agency for the big credit card banks. The new BK law is a joke. Most of the abuses were people filing for BK while keeping million dollar homes. Guess what? That loophole still exists in states like Florida. This bill was a gift to the banks, period. All it will do is increase the popularity of "bankruptcy alternative" companies. Yes, there are some legitimate companies out there, but there are also hundreds of greedy outfits and plenty of outright scammers. As a former executive with a large debt settlement company, (who left the industry because of the ever-increasing fee structure), my advice to the consumer looking to avoid the ridiculous restrictions imposed by this new BK law are to take matters into their own hands and negotiate directly with their own creditors. Why pay $1000s in fees when creditors settle for 35% to 50% anyway? Anyone interested in learning more about this do-it-yourself approach please read the free articles at http://www.zipdebt.com. A good summary of the new law may also be found at http://www.new-bankruptcy-law-info.com. If you're determined to avoid bankruptcy (with good reason now that this new law is in effect), then get educated, and DO IT YOURSELF!

I officially filed for Ch13 Bankrupcty on October 11th. Two years ago my marriage ended and I became divorced. In the year before, my ex-wife had run up "our" credit to levels that I couldn't imagine ever paying back. I had no idea until the financial declarations were made during the divorce. I have no idea what she spent the money on but I ended up getting stuck with 60% of her splurging. I made all of the minimum payments for the past 2 years and barely made a dent in the principle. Before all of this I had a credit score just below 800. I could have never visualized being in the position that I am today. I think the new laws are complete BS. So I filed and I feel great about it!

The new bankruptcy law stinks! Those of us who've watched the Bush administration's policy of pro corporate America at the expense of the middle-class and poor aren't surprised. The litany of favorable treatment to big business by Bush and cronies is lengthy and questionable...oil, loss of jobs, enormous trade deficit,timber, tax credits for the rich, Halliburton no bid contracts, lack of funding for alternative fuels(we should be losing dependence on foreign oil),premptive war stike against Iraq, prisoner abuse, costly prescription plan, etc. The new bankruptcy law is just another nail in the coffin of the financially disenfranchised. Those who put this administration in power need to ponder these in 2006 and 2008...as for me I've already decided!!!

There are legitimate reasons to file bankruptcy ... you've lost your job, you've had a horrible illness which has (no pun intended) "bankrupted" you. Your deadbeat husband (or wife, whoever is the keeper of the bank roll) has left you with 2.5 kids and a house payment -- yes, you work too, but it's not enough to cover everything. Okay. Understandable. I worked for a bankruptcy attorney years ago -- people were horribly and absolutely IRRESPONSIBLE about how they spent their money. As others have mentioned in their comments, where is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in this country? You have been bit by the American bug and you charge your way to happiness and think that materialism will fill the hole in your heart and/or make everything okay!?!? Guess what? You need to be responsible for paying your debt. Period. End of story. I got into a lot of credit card debt years ago. I worked the equivalent of two full time jobs for years to clean it all up. I learned about being responsible -- get a grip. This is America -- stop making everyone and everything else responsible for you being irresponsible.

Just to correct an incorrect link someone posted earlier that allows you to opt out of receiving credit offers sent via information from your credit report, the correct link is as follows:

www.optoutprescreen.com
I want to thank the person who originally brought this to my attention here. I had no idea such a thing existed. I know it won't stop all credit offers, but it will stop many.

OK let me say one thing. You know all those commercials about consumer credit counseling where they say we can help get you out of debt and repair your credit.. DONT DO IT!!! I work for a well known retail lender and I am a loan approver. We look upon credit counseling as the curse!! The way I understand it is if you sign up for credit counseling you agree to NOT take out any more loans until your debt is paid off. You would not believe the people that apply for loans and they think we are going to approve them.. THINK AGAIN MY FRIEND. Its an automatic denial no matter what you are buying or how much you want and even after its paid off it will be a long time before we let you borrow money from us. I myself was considering cccs and bankruptcy at one time. Thank goodness I didnt go through with it. My lawyer actually told me that my credit would be better after the bankruptcy. what a joke that is!! For us it has to be at least 2 years since you filed bk plus you have to have a certain amount of trade lines since then and you have to have paid perfect. I encourage anyone I speak to considering either of these options to really think this over and exhaust every other option before you do this...

The law should have required "REAL", credible credit counseling for all high schoolers as a condition of graduation. I got my first credit card when I was in college--brochures galore came packed with my textbooks. If I had been educated by my family (who didn't use credit and assumed I wouldn't) or schools about interest, etc., I would have been much more capable of making good choices early on. Second, it is true that the credit companies are making record profits. When we were going through a hard time, our credit card was maxed and we were getting overlimit fees because even though we were paying the minimum balance, our interest was putting us back over the limit. How can that be?! This went on for months. On top of that, we had $35 late fees if we paid a day late (happened) AND we were paying 24% interest because we were late. We were responsible but going through a tough time through circumstances beyond our control and it was very, very, very difficult for us to recover. We did take on the debt and we were responsible for it. But on the other hand, fair is fair. Credit card companies need to loan RESPONSIBLY as much as consumers need to borrow responsibly. And they need to charge fairly. If you are one day late on one bill--your phone bill, any bill--your credit card company can and will raise your interest rate even if you have never been late with them! THAT is NOT fair. They are making the record profits. Americans are growing deeper and deeper in debt and for many people, it is hopeless. This law should have been more responsible. By the way, we used FISC (Financial Information Service Center) in Appleton, WI twice and they were beyond excellent, helping us with budget planning, setting priorities, finding extra cash, etc. They provide excellent courses. I cannot thank them enough. (Thanks, Janet!) And I notice a lot of "liberal" and "conservative" barbs in this. I am wondering why it is a partisan issue and why people can't consider the issue on its own merits and try to see each others' point of view rather than judging or taking a narrow point of view? Consumers AND creditors are both at fault here and we need to work for laws that protect BOTH parties and encourage responsible spending.

We need to be more like China and just shoot people that cannot make it in the head and be done with these dead-beats.

People that have been laid-off or have medical problems need immediate natural selection if they cannot pay their own way.

All this deadwood is dragging our society down. China has one of the best ideas in the world with mobile execution vans. It is time to deal with all the people that do not contribute.

to FY....I wonder how you would feel...if... you have a stroke, endure months of humiliating and difficult rehab and still lose sight in one eye, so your wife leaves you for a richer man (read no outlandish medical bills or long term disability), BUT you still hafta pay max support because she wont work (his income don't count??), plus assume debt from couple cards that were maxed by her, for her, and in her name to boot! Lose your home and every thing you have worked towards for 20 years (she can even clean out your pension/401k in this gender biased state) then work two jobs every day just so you can have $ for some ramen and possibly some fuel to get to these jobs!! I would never file bankrupcy and I ALWAYS pay my support. though I have to work 14 to 16 hrs EVERY day!! I do this even though the state says I am a "person with a significant disability" (that gets me squat) . I can complain that life aint fair but obviously no one gives a hoot so why bother...I don't give a hoot either...I still have my pride...though as it stands I might be willing to part with it ...for the right price....nah hahahahahhahah I am out

One of your readers has disagreed with my earlier comment, and has taken it upon him/herself to attack my email address and domain. They are sending emails with an attached virus infected file, and constructing messages that appear to come from my domain.

If anyone receives email, that comes from Harrisware.com, and it has an attachment, it did not come from me. It is an illegal and reprehesible act by someone who cannot deal in the realm of words.

I suppose that's what I should have expected, trying to discuss an issue in a liberal forum.

.

This is a BS Liberal Blog with a mostly liberal creditors who think the government (us) owe you for your poor judgement in barrowing. Perhaps you liberal barrows (and this blogger) need to learn the word "RESPONSIBILITY". Perhaps you should come out with a blog on that word rather than ripping a law designed to protect those who are "RESPONSIBLE". Perhaps?

Many years ago I had a nasty drinking and drug problem and in that process wracked up $30,000 in credit card debts. When I quit the drinking I had no way to pay this back. But, I also got a new job that paid too much to allow me a bankruptcy filing. So, you know what I did? I ignored all the creditors. And yes, for 7 years they hounded me, called all the time, sent threatening letters, but in the end, they DID NOTHING. No lawsuits, no taking of my wages, nothing. A bankruptcy would have damaged my credit for 10 years. Not paying those debts damaged it for only 7. Now, that time has passed, all those old debts are off my credit history and I pay my bills like a good citizen. For me, I think the bankruptcy law is moot. If you can't pay, don't. You're credit rating is probably already shot, might as well just ride it out.

When people graduate from high school what real world knowledge has been taught? The government should require all students to take some sort of class on personal finance. Funny, most high school students do not even know how to balance a checkbook, or know what the meaning of budget is. Yet you have banks like Citibank giving $800 credit cards instantly to kids just getting in to college. And regardless of the record debt, these creditors and banks are still reporting record earnings and profits. Who are they kidding.

There are 3 main reasons for legitimate bankruptcy, yet none of the chapters address them. If one is upside down with medical debt, there should be a chapter specific to that problem. A chapter that removes a debtor of all medical debt, but nothing else.

response to jackie and all who judge:
Yes I overextended myself. I made a mistake. Why is it any different for someone who honestly did not know how to budget or made poor choices with credit? DOes that make them deliberate or bad people. No. And than when we did have job loss it happened again, to save my home. Why is that an abuse? Yes we need education and I am teaching my teenage daughter as I was not taught. Right off the top she puts 10% in savings and tiths 10%. If I had been taught Godly principles, things would have been different, but the fact is I am where I am. Hope you never have to experience making a wrong choice. Is telling people how worthless they are really going to accomplish anything? Try building up instad.

Even though I support bankruptcy reform I find it ironic how much national debt our federal government has taken on and how they expect the U.S. taxpayers to be model citizens when it comes to debt.

To all those who borrowed money, used it, enjoyed it, and can't pay it back: You are NOT responsible. The new law will make it fair for those of us who only spend what they can pay back.

STOP WHINING.

I love all the talk about credit card debt and bankruptcy..
The probelm is there are people out there with little or no credit card debt and still file for bankruptcy. They have had either a reduction in income due to (job loss, illnes, fill in the blank, or combination of things) or they have had a major loss (death, disaster, handicap, other major life crisis). These people will not get any help with the new law... and allot of the time with the old law.. Chapter 13's have a 50 percent failure rate now... that will go up in the furture... the bankruptcy laws always have and will help people that really don't need it.. and the ones that do it never will... unfortuantly I know...

My final word on this issue: "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you"

As a person who has filed chapter 7, not due to neglect or abuse of credit, but loss of jobs, the law worked for us, because we had no other options. Now what will happen to those poor people who have no options? I feel for them.

None of this should be a suprise to any middle class or low income person. This country was set up by rich white men, for rich white men. (I'm a white, middle class man). President Bush has taken grossly underqualified people and filled our government with them, himself being the worst. All he is worried about is how much he and his cronies can get while he is in office. He's not worried about you or me. Anyone who would nominate a person who has absolutely no judicial experience or any experience interpreting constitutional law is deplorable. The cost of everything will continue to rise, our healthcare and retirement benefits will continue to decrease, any kind of protection we thought we had from big banks and credit card companies will be taken away, and our salaries will remain stagnant. This is just the beginning.

My husband had a good manufacturing job when we bought our house and we had excellent credit. When my husband's job got sent to mexico, he couldn't find a job that paid even half of what he was making and forget about health insurance. We borrowed from family to pay our debts but finally came to the realization that this is just not the same America it was 10 years ago and we will never have the good jobs and inexpensive health insurance we once had. After working each of us working two crappy-paying jobs for two years, we finally filed bankruptcy. We are now living in a two bedroom apartment for the four of us and are still struggling to pay our bills even though we filed bankruptcy and are supposedly living the high life that everyone who files lives, right? I guess we should have run out and bought new cars first, but we settled for keeping our 11 and 12 year old cars. I am sure we made mistakes along the way, but we felt forsaken by not only the company my husband worked for but by the government that allows this to happen to american workers on a daily basis. We aren't entitled to "have it all" but it sure hurts when you have "a little bit" and it gets ripped away.

take your credit cards all of you and just throw them
out.then we will see how these credit card companies
survive.imagine 8 to 10 million cards in the trash.

After my layoff, many unemployed months later, I went to Greenpath for credit help. They were honest enough to try to get my payments down but ultimately recommended bankruptcy because I was too far down. I recommend them.

Once again, blaming the victim. My 76 year old mother who is frail and often ill, has credit card debt for MEDICINE and FOOD. No one in our family is in a financial position to help. Her small trust fund is exhausted, and she will now only be receiving a whopping $574.00 a month in Social Security Benefits(including the 2006 raise). My mother doesn't need credit counseling, she needs bancruptcy protection, and a way to keep her car from being reposessed, so she can get to the grocery store and spend the $24.00 she will have left over after paying her $550.00 monthly rent. We'll have to figure out something to help my mother, but I'm sick to death of victim blaming because some people have not experienced adversity, and are just plain ignorant beyond belief.

Definition of IRONY: One of the largest causes of personal bankruptcy is Credit Card Debt. Do you know you can CHARGE your Bankruptcy Petition Fees with the Federal Bankruptcy Court,on your MASTERCARD or VISA ?

Well we have just what business wants - Gov't of by and for the corporations. Doesn't matter which party is in office it will be the same.

Why don't we set up our young adults for success with credit by teaching them personal finance in high school? I ran into the credit trap in my late teens and paid for a long time to get myself out. A simple class to understand the basics would have helped a LOT! Of course, the credit card companies probably wouldn't like that too much.

It is too bad that our country has come to this. It has always been a giving country but now it has become greedy to the people who need it most, the American Working People, instead of sending it to everyone else to make a big show for themselves. The new bankruptcy law should be OUTLAWED itself. Don't our government see what happens to normal families who work for a living and have personal disasters. Those people on Capitol Hill will never understand because we pay them for their time to make up these laws. If we did not work hard for our money and pay taxes then those people wouldn't be getting paid and maybe they would appreciate every penny they get, even when it all goes for bills.

My daughter and son-in-law paid a credit counseling company for 3 1/2 years and nothing ever got paid. They too were forced to file bankruptcy.

It seems that everyone is in agreement with this report (great report by the way.) Those who said that we need to stop putting crooks into Congress, I applaud you! If you noticed, this country is now being run by special interest lobbyists and lawyers. Remember the movie "Devil's Advocate?"

I agree that every American needs to go through a counseling "before" they get a credit card! Credit card companies are like tobacco companies. They always entice you to think that having a card is like free money. Along with having a card, you also get blank checks that you can use as another form of payment (hence more debt!) However, if you're late making a payment (by one hour), you're assessed harsh penalties ($30-$40 late fee), and you're reported to the Credit Bureaus for the late payment. Who do you think run the Credit Bureaus?

Of course, there are so many lawyers in Congress who write our laws, that there will be only the rich and the poor. No longer the middle class. I guess we have Mr. Bush for this. Anyone want to lobby for those honest, hardworking Americans? Anyone??

Wonder how this new law will affect Donald Trump???

I would like to comment on the so called credit repair companies that so many people have been burned by. First of all NO ONE can repair your credit except you and it takes TIME! Bad credit disappears from your credit report 7 years after you first defaulted on the account. With bankruptcies, it is 10 years before it disappears. Here is how a credit repair company works. They take your credit report from all three agencies and then flood the reporting agencies with disputes filings of all derogatory entries in the reports. The credit reporting agency then goes back to the creditor that provided the derogatory information and ask then to verify the information. The Creditor now has thirty days to research and verify the information and provide a response back to the reporting agency. If they don't provide a response with in that thirty day period the information is then removed from the report. Aha! credit repaired right? WRONG!! It may disappear from your credit report for a limited time; say time enough have a good enough report pulled to buy a car at a reasonable interest rate. However, then the viper bites. The creditors finally catch up and respond back the the credit reporting agencies and all that derogatory informtion that was temporarily expunged from your credit record is right back in there again. Meanwhile you are out the money you paid to the so called credit repair company or credit doctor.

Also I must take exception with the notion that credit counseling agencies are a rip off. Sure, there many out there that are less than reputable. There was one I will not mention that advertised on national television a few years ago that eventually was brought up under federal criminal charges and has shut down. However, credit counseling agencies that are members of the National Foundation of Credit Counselors are highly professional non profit organizations that charge very small fees or none at all. Sure, we may get Grants or a Fair Share percentage from some creditors, but guess what? We don't get diddley from collection agencies we deal with, and by the time some of our clients seek us out, every account they have is with a collection agency. I know. I am an NFCC certified counselor and currently volunteer part time at a small counseling center. Volunteer means I don't get PAID. So I am not in it for the money. I have seen the credit scores of some clients that have successfully completed the debt management program go from a low of in the 400's when they started to over 800 at the end of the program. So so much for the bunk that going on a debt management program ruins your credit rating. We are also a HUD certified counseling agency and have helped many home owners who were in default on their mortgages save their home from forclosure through budgeting education and working with the lender to get themselves back on track. So there are some of us good guys out there. Just look for nfcc.org on the internet and you will find a plethera of reputable credit counseling agencies.

What ever happened to happiness and freedom. I can't understand why we have all these rich folks running our country while everyone in the working class is suffering, weither you white,black,or anyother color. There seems like there is no more true happiness. The rich get greedier.

I declared Chapter 13 almost 2 years ago to save my house - on a 5 year plan. The reason I had to do this is because I endured a pay cut of $7,000 in one year due to loss of overtime. I have always had credit and paid my bills up until this point. The payment is $1,116 per month. I could have walked away from ALL my debt but I wanted to keep my house. Now I drive around in a car without legal plates or car insurance because I can't afford it. Citibank raised my interest rate to 21% for being a couple of days late, when I called them and told them my pay date changed. This entire new law is to help the credit industry, who PREY on EVERYONE. They were sending me checks to cash for $2,000 at a time. Republicans are in the pocket of big business and don't care about anyone who is middle or lower income, since it doesn't affect THEIR bottom line.

Excuse me, who do we blame but the administration for the laws that are enacted? Isn't our government supposed to be accountable to we the people?

How shameful that there is a sentiment in our great country that we can't hold our government accountable for:

1) Poorly written laws (Bankruptcy Law)
2) Pork barrel spending
3) Huge Deficits
4) Lies and dishonestly

As I read the posts on this subject today I am shocked to learn there are so many in this country that appear to be convinced all their problems are the fault of our President, seemingly an all powerful god!! with an army of Corporate Angels who are...in charge of raising oil prices,creating all credit woes,making consumers spend more than they make,creating hurricanes to destroy the coast so the corp.angels can the contracts rebuild it,,purposely sending my job overseas,starting a war to control another nation's oil reserves,blah,blah,blah,blah.The omnipotent gods we've elected are to blame for everything in the universe?? This kind of assinine logic is why this Blessed country is having any trouble at all. The rest of the world reads this rhetorical garbage and laughs their butts off. Americans that act this way are ripe targets for the Al Queda,etc. predators.Keep a job,pay your bills, save some money, and help your neighbors in need and quit the bitching!! BLAME your problems on yourself..."You reap what you sow"!!!

"If you borrow money you should have to pay it back, period." I guess red is red. There are no "shades" of red. I guess thoese who aren't for us are against us. I guess we should just trust an administration who speaks of ethics, then tried to revoke the very ethics rules THEY PUT IN PLACE in a tranparent attempt to protect their own! I guess we should just trust an administration that is wriled in scandal and inpropriaties the likes of which Nixon would have been amazed by. God bless America! God bless the republican party! God help us all!

I agreee with almost all of these comments. Big business is the big winner here two times over. They can still file for bankruptcy... like ENRON and leave all of their pension funds penniless and still operate. With the outsourcing of american jobs overseas and an ever growing trade deficit, which is at 2 billion a month, doesn't congress have any better things to occupy their time with than people just trying to get by. The real thing that congress should be looking at is the banking institution itself and its practices in lending. We have become a debtor nation. And to our worst enimies... CHINA!!! The fractional-reserve banking system that we have in place makes the people of this nation and others subservient to the banking instituions. All the way back to the revolutionary war and to the civil war the bankers have been wielding their power over the masses. As Mayer Anslem Rothschild once said: "Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws...". Abraham Lincoln once tried to do this by issuing $400 million in interest-free greenbacks because he wouldn't accept their 30% interest they wanted to impose on the loans they would give to finance the war. Shortly after that happened , "The London Times" printed the following "If that mischievous financial policy, which had its origin in the North American Republic, should become indurated down to a fixture, then that government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off debts and be without a debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous beyond precedent in the history of the civilized governments of the world. The brains and wealth of all countries will go to North America. That government must be destroyed, or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe." Why is this of importance to this discussion? Because it is the exact same thing the bankers are doing to the american people with high interest rates and the 29%-40% interest they charge. They don't loan you anything. When you sign that agreement you are actually creating a loan. The funding agent on the loan is your signature. The loan comes from the deposits in the bank. Federal law prohibits them from extending credit. To get a better understanding of the banking system as it is today in this country and its history I recommend "The Creature from Jekyll Island" : by G. Edward Griffin.

I haven’t bought anything on credit in close to 8 years, not a single credit card in my house for 5, not even for emergencies.

I am fiscally disciplined, my family eats light, no major expenses, I drive a ford aspire, 4 cylinders 35+ per gallon on city streets.

Gee, I hope someone get an opportunity to flame me really hard after this

And while I love what freedoms are left to us (Joke) I think I have had it with the wealthy buying trial lawyers and getting away with murder. Companies off shoring my jobs. Twice now that has happened.

I defy the odds every day keeping my family above water on 43000 a year, I have a GED and nothing else, but I make to much for assistance and too little to get out of the hole, and no help from my conservative republican parents, who are also Bush-ite hypocrites, racists, and old white people.

I will not go to war in Iraq and support President Bush or his big business Coup on freedom, but if I am called by my brother patriots in this country to rise up against our government and reinstitute the rule of law, then by all means its Johnny get your gun.

Its is time for another revolutionary or civil war in this country, if only JFK were here to lead us out of the darkness.

Please, find and eat a rich person!

Having worked in the bankruptcy field for 20 years, anyone who thinks that people who file for bankruptcy are deadbeats is wrong. The majority of the people that I encountered were decent hard working people who, like has been said, incurred medical bills, lost a job, got divorced...very few of them took on debt with no intentions of paying it back. Have you looked at the interest rate on credit cards? The very people that are charging such high interest rates are the ones that pushed this bill thru Congress. And as for the comment from someone earlier that it was Bush's fault, the bankruptcy bill had been pending for years and it was the Republican legislators that finally pushed it through. In my opinion, just another example of the rich corporations getting rich at the expense of ordinary hard-working Americans. I am not looking forward to seeing the stories of people who are not able now to buy food or medicine because they are being forced to pay back some outrageous medical bill while the fat cats sit back and rake in the dough.

people wake up !its not just the new bankruptcy laws,high gas prices,high heating prices, etc etc etc. it is our elected officials how could care less about the common man or woman in this country.lets see when election time comes around when they give tax breaks to people who dont need them,this will be forgotten so fast it wont even be funny.people its time for a real revolution in this country,it might not be pretty but it is sorely needed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With a heavy heart I filed bancruptcy last month, I was laid off two years ago and after 6 months of not working I took a job that paid half of what I was making. I tried for two years to keep up on all of my expenses (that I was able to afford before a layoff).
I am afraid that this new bill will not help the people that really need help. Just because a person files does not mean that they are irresponsible or uneducated. I work in the financial industry and know how to manage money, fileing has given me a new found hope for my future and I know that I will never have to do anything like this ever again and I will never put myself in this position again. I feel that laws should not always punish people some laws should be made to gives folks a second chance to start over and make a better life for themselves and in doing that become a better citizen to this country.

I had to file Chapter 7 because I had a 45% pay lose and I'll say this," It will be a cold, no... a very very cold day in He$$ before they suck me into the Credit Trap again! It's simple no cash, no buy!

With a heavy heart I filed bancruptcy last month, I was laid off two years ago and after 6 months of not working I took a job that paid half of what I was making. I tried for two years to keep up on all of my expenses (that I was able to afford before a layoff).
I am afraid that this new bill will not help the people that really need help. Just because a person files does not mean that they are irresponsible or uneducated. I work in the financial industry and know how to manage money, fileing has given me a new found hope for my future and I know that I will never have to do anything like this ever again and I will never put myself in this position again. I feel that laws should not always punish people some laws should be made to gives folks a second chance to start over and make a better life for themselves and in doing that become a better citizen to this country.

J. Rutherford Anderson says succinctly an eloquently.
Theideology of the current administration is that if you are poor get the heck out of the country. Hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attack terminal cancer, increasing downsizing causing loss of jobs -we don't give a s.... Pay up or get out!

Most of these posts that blame the administration are exactly why we need bankruptcy reform. Society want's to blame someone else for the bad spending habits. Peharps this new legislation misses the mark where medical and natural disasters are concerned but with some tweaks it could be a step in the right direction.

Using credit cards has ruined my life. Please, please do not use them and let's send our own brand of message to these corrupt credit card companies. I made mistakes, and I admit that, but I no longer use credit cards (because I can't). How can credit cards get away with charging 29% interest? I am rapidly trying to pay my debt down and I will never, ever again use a credit card. It wasn't worth it! My sister and brother went bankrupt and now, I am paying off their debt (twofold). Be responsible!

I was hoping fo reform, but this is better than nothing. I was forced into CH 13 after my ex file CH 7 so my kids and I could keep our house. I earn a very nice income and own 2 cars with bad transmissions. I can't buy a new car. This is what BK and divorce does to honest people and their children.

To make matters worse, the new law places financial penalties on attorneys who file bankruptcy for the debtors -- in the event information about the debtor's assets are incorrect. Thus, as an attorney, my liability for handling such cases is too high for our office to continue filing such cases. Other attorneys I know will be charging two to three times what they previously charged for a chapter 7 bankruptcy (the typical fee before the new law went into effect was $500-800). Moreover, the filing fees charged by the court have increased.

When you take a close look at the new law and how it will operate, you have to wonder -- after completing credit counseling, paying your attorney, paying for court costs, and having to wait even longer for debt relief -- when you are at the meeting of creditors and asked on the record if you accumulated any debts in anticipation of filing bankruptcy, how would a trustee respond if the debtor relied "yes" and explained that the reason for such debts were because "there was no other way to be pennyless and file a bankruptcy. I had to borrow the money to file." Having enough money go through the hoops and file might as well be an indication that your bankruptcy should not be approved.

In the coming months it will be interesting to see how this law is enforced and interpreted. I think there is little doubt that it will have to be serously revised in the future. For now, we are all at it's mercy, in an economy that has little left for those without the ability to pay.

Amen, Mike R., as you sow, so shall ye reap.

U.S. people reaping an ill harvest from electing criminals. The worst of whom come from one U.S. state in particular.

What can you say about BK law that penalizes people who are mostly just down on their luck?

Sure there are a few abusers, but the facts are that it is mainly people who have an unfortunate life event.

If you do need credit counseling, I recommend Debt Management Group (DMG) who uses the Care One Credit Counseling website. I got divorced 3 years ago and then lost my job... after a few months on my own with no money coming in, I'd maxed out with $35,000 in revolving credit card debt (about my annual gross salary now). I was determined not to declare bankruptcy, so I did a LOT of research into credit counseling services. I looked into one service that wanted to charge me a $900 setup fee to begin helping me! Then I found DMG... I pay a voluntary $10 per month to them for their service and they got my interest rates reduced from 25% apr (which was impossible to pay) to an average of 10% apr with no additional fees.

I agree with everyone else that this law was not really thought-out very well. What are they thinking?

Ewwwww....here's a thought....how about a direct link to the actual bill. Does anybody want to actually take the time to read the actual LAW????

Here's the link...
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ008.109.pdf

It takes you to a PDF version of the actual law that was signed by President Bush in April of this year.

Seems to me that a case can be made for everyone....

Hope you all enjoyed the roll call votes, the web links to WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN and SENATOR, and the link to the actual LAW.

Have a nice day!

Please people, all of this Bush-blaming, like that is the sole reason the country's a mess. Don't get me wrong, George W. Bush is an absolute IDIOT. No doubt about it. But would John Kerry have done a better job? More than likely not. Capitol Hill itself is a special interest group. It's only "interested" in its own "special groups". Republican and Democrats want you to pick sides so you'll have less options, but don't forget who gave George Bush a big raise before he left the White House...that would be former "I-did-not-have-sex-with-that-woman" Bill Clinton. Another absolute IDIOT! Give yourselves more options at election time and maybe we can get some folks in office with common sense. I can go to the grocery store and choose from what seems to be 100's of different boxes of breakfast cereal (which BTW seem to decrease in size while the price increases), but when it comes to presidential elections I have one of two options "Evil or the Lesser of Two Evils". People Stop voting solely Democrat or Republican....VOTE INDEPENDENT! Vote for Mr Magoo or Bozo the Clown but stop voting for the lesser of two evils.

Bob, there's a lot of truth in what your wrote and although the law was intended to help it is going to be a big mess. The folks need help juggling the bills through an emergency or series of bad events such as a CHRONIC or TERMINAL ILLNESS. In these cases, credit counseling is a waste of money and the payment clause gives NO HOPE to ever being out of debt. Q1: Why can't the gov't offer 0% financing to pay for medical bills to medical care providers to avoid them from being victims from credit cards? If GM can do it to sell more cars shouldn't gov't do it to help the sick? Q2: If you're sick, why not allow medical bills to be a straight deduction from income? Why should 7.5% of your income be for medical expenses especially if you're needing loans to pay for them? I know for fact that even WITH MEDICAL INSURANCE people are going BANKRUPT BY MEDICAL BILLS. The premium alone for these cases of pre-existing condition is $600/month. The deduducatable is $2,000/year. A minimum of $9,200 of net income is needed just for the insurance so what do you think happens when you get a $1,200 bill for an ER visit that was not pre-approved? (ans: visa/MC)

This is what the people get for voting criminals into office. Next time dont vote someone in just because they tell you they talk to Jesus and hate gays. Now the republicans control everything and we all know their only interest is what is good for big business.

Hypocritical to say the least. Politicians routinely outspend revenue, racking up over a trillion dollars in debt. Yet I bet none have gone to mandatory class on managing even a simple checkbook. Our leaders just don't seem to believe in leading by example. >sigh<

I agree that the new legislation is terrible.

I also believe in paying my legitimate debts. I never buy on credit cards what I can't afford to pay off in full each month; that way, I never have to pay their exorbitant interest rates. My credit score is 837 (highest possible is 850) because I have NEVER spent beyond my means to repay promptly - even when I was unable to find work for 10 months and our family was down to its last $600. We eventually recovered with hard work, and by now we are comfortably well off.

Live within your means, don't buy what you can't afford to repay, and don't stack up debt upon debt. If you can't repay your credit cards promptly to begin with, then don't use them.

May I suggest that this is the way to stay out of trouble in the first place?

Re: Jane : "I am currently in Chapter 13 bankruptcy."
Jane, your reasons for being in bankruptcy are exactly the reasons the new law was passed, You overspent and overextended yourself. You deserve no sympathy.
Re: Robert Larosche "The spelling and grammar are atrocious." Right on, Robert. Improper grammar and poor spelling automatically dilute and diminish the message. How do people expect to be taken seriously when they are obviously so ignorant?

Most bankruptcy filings are due to unforseen circumstances: health bills, divorce, or job loss.

A smaller percentage are due to overspending. Please consider the facts as opposed to bank/credit card propoganda.

Well..I hope everybody is Happy, because this is what they all voted for last Fall. For the people that are unhappy and didn't vote...It's more ammo to get out of bed this Nov. and vote your Republican Congressman out of Office. If the Democrats take back the congress, we can fix this law, and Make Bush a Lame Duck for Sure, and not have to worry about his last 2 years in Office. Vote Democrat!!!! in Nov 2006!!!!!

first of all i think that the single mothers out there who are trying to make a living and not live on the systems are being hurt. i have an income of 1,000 and i pay for day care that's is over one hundred, plus a car payment, with insurance since you have to have it to drive. Plus gas and food i normality do not have enough to make it but family makes sure i have food to eat and clothes for my four year old son.
Bankrupcy was the only the only out once and i think even if i get counseling it will be the only out again plus i have a student loan that i have not even started to rpay since most of my jobs before this one were part time and an extra 50-55 was not even there if i do not have 20 for gas i surely do not have 50-55 for loan repayments.

if the people who make this a law had to live on the 1,000 i do and pay for everything i do and they could not do it, they have no idea how to live like i do plus have money for the basic everyday needs like toilt paper, personal products, and something as basic as soap to take a bathe with LETS GET REAL WE ARE IN THE RICHEST NATIONAL ON EARTH AND PEOPLE GO HUNRY EVERYDAY ..... SHAME SHAME... I WISH I DID NOT LIVE HERE BUT I DO.

Government of the money, for the money, by the money. It just goes to show you what really controls government. I lost my job and had to move out of state to my new job. My new job did not pay as much as my old job did but it beat living on unemployment. My wife was 8 mos pregnant with our 1st child and we had no family she could stay with. I paid my COBRA but my insurance denied our claim when our child was born because we moved in the last month of the pregnancy. He was also in the NICU for 3 weeks. We racked up over 100k in medical bills. Thank goodness for bankruptcy. We declared chapter 13 and paid back what we could afford. It was tough but at least it was easy and available. Now its almost impossible under the new laws for people to get any relief. We all need to take control back from our so-called representatives and repeal most of the unfair laws passed by this administration.

There is a way out! BECOME SMART by knowing every way of escaping. DO NOT LET credit counselors manipulate your case and do not give in and make payments to the creditors when the credit counselors corner you to do so. Making another payment keeps you agonizing for one more day, one more week and one more year.
FILE THE BANKRUPTCY and don't negotiate. In the long run it will be better to pay the filing fees, the counseling fees, etc. Making payments by negotiations with your creditors, which promise nothing, will hold you back from starting over.
THEY KNOW YOU ARE SCARED AND THEY USE THAT PERIOD OF TIME TO SUCK THAT LAST DOLLAR OUT OF YOU!
Fear is the number one enemy in a bankrutcy.

Government of the money, for the money, by the money. It just goes to show you what really controls government. I lost my job and had to move out of state to my new job. My new job did not pay as much as my old job did but it beat living on unemployment. My wife was 8 mos pregnant with our 1st child and we had no family she could stay with. I paid my COBRA but my insurance denied our claim when our child was born because we moved in the last month of the pregnancy. He was also in the NICU for 3 weeks. We racked up over 100k in medical bills. Thank goodness for bankruptcy. We declared chapter 13 and paid back what we could afford. It was tough but at least it was easy and available. Now its almost impossible under the new laws for people to get any relief. We all need to take control back from our so-called representatives and repeal most of the unfair laws passed by this administration.

This is great. First off, financial education BELONGS in schools. Secondly, resposibility belongs at home. No one is telling you to go out and buy more than you can afford, of course there are hardships but please. The rich get richer because you keep buying their crap. Wake up America.

I am responding to the article from my own experience with bankruptcy. I had a job for four years with a large company, but was laid off in 2001 due to cut backs. I tried to find a job, but , with a lot of companies in the area leaving for the south or just closing their doors permanently, there were many of us without jobs who owned homes, had children in school and good credit. That ended about the time I sent out my 100 th resume and depleted my savings account trying to pay my bills. I called the credit card companies, the mortgage company, the credit union and all of my debt accounts to let them know that I was having problems. Not one of them was willing to work with me. I sent a letter to the credit card companies to put my card in pay down status, something that they don't tell you that you can do to stop the interest from accruing. Then I went to a credit counselor, to find out that they couldn't help me. With no income outside of unemployment, they had no help, outside of telling me to work two jobs, I couldn't find one job, let alone two...so I had to file bankruptcy to keep my house. I got food vouchers for a while to help out but, the lawyer charged me $1500.00 to do my bankruptcy. I had to sell some of my possessions to do that. In the meantime, I was hounded by my mortgage company about the mortgage. So, we are not all sneaky, debt ridden people scamming the system. I even had someone try to steal my identity prior to all of this. Now I am starting from scratch, have a job again that pays the bills somewhat, but it will be a long time before I will ever be where I was before I lost my job. If ever. So, those of you sitting in judgement, is YOUR job so secure? Do you have enough money to live on if you lose it? Is YOUR house paid off? Think about it. The boat is sinking and it is taking the country's workers with it.

Great job on clearing up a few areas of concern for us. Though I do not need bankrupcy help at this time...this article has made me realize I need to avoid it like the plague!!! Big Brother (Creditors) have made themselves a bill that little brother (Counselors)can benefit from. Thanks for taking the time to educate the masses.

Because of the abuse of credit these days, I feel that we need some type of bankruptcy laws. I haven't really combed over this new law, but I work with too many people who have opted for bankruptcy just to get out of debt and not have to pay back on their irresponsible spending habits. Not one was because of medical or natural disaster issues. Bankruptcy should be a last resort for people who have looked at all other options. I always felt it was an easy way out -at times- and there are some people don't care about their credit score. Own up to your part of the agreement and pay off those cards on your own!! If it weren't for the abuse, the so called rich Republicans wouldn't be making these laws in the first place.

My husband and I filed a Ch. 13 in 2001 and was discharged in 2005. I paid all my debtors back everything I owed them, minus the interest charge that they would have gotten if I did not file. When we went in there I was so beaten up and felt really bad for filing. However, I didn't feel bad that I was the only only one bringing in an income and having to pay everything.

I paid the trustee $975 every month and she dispersed our monies. Once again all my creditors were paid what I owed them but, now I try to buy a new t.v. on credit I can't get it becuase I have Ch 13 on my credit report. Those creditors did get what I owed them. Just wanted to throw that in.