Well the bankruptcy bill has passed the House, and now it goes the shrub for his John Hancock.

Bankruptcy Bill Passes; Bush Expected to Sign

"Lawmakers voted 302 to 126 for the bill, which is identical to a measure the Senate passed last month. It would make the most significant changes to bankruptcy law since 1978. Its passage by Congress marks a coup for executives in the credit card, retail and auto financing industries who have pushed it for nearly a decade. They argue the changes are necessary to weed out abusers of the system who use Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection to shirk debts they can afford to pay."

Is this a good thing for us? Or is it a good thing for the credit industry who already have us ALL by the balls?

"Consumer advocacy groups and many Democrats, who fought the legislation... arguing that lenders' liberal credit policies and aggressive sales practices have been equally responsible for putting many Americans over their heads in debt. They say the new legislation would be too harsh on individuals driven into debt by job loss, sickness, divorce or military duty. That is especially unfair, they say, because the bill would preserve loopholes that enable wealthy individuals who file for bankruptcy to shield unlimited amounts of money in complex trusts and in multimillion-dollar homes in states including Texas and Florida."

Seems to me, we are being taken advantage of. I don't know enough of the details, but why can't we close the loopholes, and make it harder to cheat the bankruptcy system, AND lasso the credit industry's predatory tactics all at the same time? Why does it seem that this bill and its authors care more about the credit industry than about the people whose lives can be ruined by financial destruction?

I think we really need to ask that question, and then ask what direction our republican congress is taking this country in, and is it really the direction we want to go in?

Either side of this argument, we can not afford to be complacent anymore, we CANNOT!