April 15th Filing Date

By Al Horn

I was once accused of being disingenuous. The fact of the matter is I have nothing on the credit card companies of this country. They are about to be handed a gift of huge financial importance from the politicians they have groomed so well.

The Senate passed a bankruptcy reform law that will make it harder for people to file for protection from their creditors. The hired hands in the House are expected to pass it along to the president sometime next month. Shortly after the president signs it, and he will (he serves the same masters), thousands of Americans that found themselves out of work during the last economic bust will find their struggles to stay solvent take on a whole new meaning. FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY NOW!

How about our older Americans who woke up and found the health care portion of their retirement plan suddenly gone. Taken back by companies that went bust then filed for government protection. The bills they have been piling up from old work injuries or sicknesses that were due to poor work environments will hit hard. FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY NOW!

Twenty years ago you couldn't get a credit card if you didn't have a good work history. In some cases you had to have a cosigner on a car loan for over a year before you were deemed credit worthy. For the past eight years, all you had to do was sign a form letter and send it back in a prepaid envelope to receive an account good for thousands of dollars. I know of people that didn't even have jobs and they received cards. Going to school and need new cloths? Books? How about a new, state of the art laptop computer? No problem. Credit card companies have been doling out credit like candy is given to kids at parties. You didn't even have to wear a blindfold to take a swing at the piņata.

I'm sure many of the laws written years ago need to be updated; the bankruptcy laws included. The credit card companies that made it so easy for many people to spend money they didn't have should shoulder some of the burden. At the very least, the current bill that is heading for troubled Americans should not become effective for several years. That would give people a chance to make an honest recovery and let the creditors learn who deserves credit and who doesn't. Otherwise, FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY before the middle of next month.