Pass The Punishment On To The Consumers!

I do not at all understand the purpose of the bankruptcy bill. I mean, I do in the sense that it's a punitive attack on people who have a streak of bad luck masked as yet another government sponsored attempt at promoting "personal responsibility". I say "Physician, heal thyself. Then you might be able to lead by example instead of fiat". But maybe that's just me.

I know plenty of people who've lost jobs and had to live on credit cards for lengthy amounts of time before finding other work. Some of them had to declare bankruptcy. I don't see how screwing these people over will teach them to better manage their money. If they learn any lesson at all, it's "don't get laid off". The other lesson they learn is that our system is rigged to punish the unfortunate, while the fortunate get rewarded just because. If credit card companies are feeling the pinch(which I seriously doubt) because bankruptcies are up, maybe we ought to find ways to, oh, make the economy more hospitable to consumers(like, you know, jobs programs or something).

Oh yeah, and what's the deal with the People's Party Of Supporting The Troops voting against exemptions on means testing for members of the military? If 16,000 active duty military have had to file for bankruptcy in a single year, maybe we just aren't paying them enough. And if we really can't afford to pay them more, why not cut them a break? I guess service is its own reward.

Update:Think Progress has a very nice summary of what's wrong with the policy, as well as a cogent description of how this legislation is "ShurbCo As Usual".