Bankruptcy law is not usually a very sexy topic, but it’s hot in Washington right now. The bankruptcy "reform" bill that the big banks and credit card companies have been pushing for years is approaching final passage. The main purpose of this bill is to make it harder for individuals to discharge their credit card debts. (Basically, credit card companies peddle credit cards to anyone with a pulse, and are then shocked! shocked! to discover that some people have a hard time keeping up with the payments.) I don’t like it, but reasonable people can disagree.
However, reasonable people cannot disagree that a party working hard to pass a "reform" like this, while rejecting an amendment to the bill that would close a disgraceful loophole allowing rich people to shield their assets from creditors after filing for bankruptcy, is truly the party of the rich. Yet that is what the Republicans did. As the proponent of the amendment, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accurately stated, "deadbeats exist in all tax brackets," adding, "I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle aren’t going to protect wealthy deadbeats from the same punishment they are doling out to those who are not so financially fortunate." But, again, that’s exactly what the Republicans did. (In the past, this lousy bill has been tripped up at the last minute by a squabble over whether fines levied on abortion protesters should be dischargeable in bankruptcy – let’s hope that happens again.)
The good thing about all this, I suppose, is that the Republicans aren’t even pretending any more. They like rich people, and they want rich people to like them. They like big banks and corporations, and they want big banks and corporations to like them. And as for ordinary people who may find themselves facing insurmountable financial problems, whether because of unforeseen medical expenses or any other reason … well, not so much.
