Let Down

Mr. Shakes just sent me an email saying:

This bankruptcy bill depresses me. Is there any hope at all? We're helpless—the entire system has been subverted.

I fear that he’s right. Echidne of the Snakes has a superb post on the dismal details of this bleak bill, which I highly recommend with a small caveat: be prepared to be rather scared and decidedly angry when you’re through with it. A highlight:

But what about those who file bankruptcy because of high medical expenses? Surely the proposal will allow them some extra slack? Actually, no. An amendment proposing a homestead exemption of $150,000 in home equity for this group was defeated by the Republicans in the Senate. So was an amendment asking for extra consideration for those in the military who had to file bankruptcy because their military service caused their private businesses to fail, an amendment asking for extra consideration for those who file bankruptcy because of identity theft and an amendment asking for a homestead exemption for the elderly. All defeated by pretty much every single Republican in the Senate…

The grim future for many average Americans forecast by this bill, coupled with the disappointment of the Dems’ inability to meet it with a unified opposition, symbolic though it would have been, makes the passage of this legislation very disheartening indeed.