Having been in a bankruptcy-eligible situation....

due not to lavish spending but to my major client not paying, a failed adoption, and massive, MASSIVE out-of-pocket medical bills (that I'm still paying a dab at a time 15 years later, I kid you not)...

> If the house is mortgaged, then the mortgage holder SHOULD have the right
> to foreclose if the debtor is in default. It is THEIR money invested in
> the home.

I agree.

> Maybe YOU are charged usurious rates, Tim, but all you need to do to
> avoid them is NOT CHARGE if you CAN'T PAY before the interest is charged.

I agree.

> Good credit earns good rates, bad credit is hit with high rates, which is
> as it should be. Credit card companies are in business to make a profit
> which is as it should be.

I agree.

> Why should the government (through the current bankruptcy statute)
> underwrite private individuals propensity to live outside their means then
> sadle their creditors with the bill for their spending spree?

I agree.

My mother's neighbors took me into their house one day and showed me their beautiful new $12,000 organ (darned expensive back in 1976!). They were SO proud of it! It was the first thing they had been able to buy on credit since their *latest* bankruptcy. They declared bankruptcy every (7?) years like clockwork. My daughter's shrink said her sister did the same thing; she used bankruptcy like her personal line of credit.

I think that's despicable and should be stopped.

I do believe the credit card companies have a real racket going, and I think they should be reined in for many unfair practices -- but when you use 'em, you know the risks (or you should).

I do agree with the others on one thing though: I think there should be some kind of legal distinction between people who are driven to bankruptcy due to circumstances beyond their control (i.e., medical bills not covered by their normally adequate insurance) and people who drive themselves there via Europe and the Bahamas and that new Mercedes.

Luv,