More Rewards for GOP Contributors

It seems strange to me that as soon as the Republicans take solid control of each branch of government in 2004 and claim a complete mandate, the two big reforms they tackle first are Social Security reform (or forced corporate investment, as some of us like to call it) and bankruptcy law reform. So which safety net are they going after next? According to today’s article in the NY Times, the bill (which is all but certain to become law very soon) will prevent families who have run into hard times as a result of health issues, job loss, etc. from getting a fresh start. It won’t, however,

curb abusive bankruptcy practices by wealthy families, who can create special trusts to shelter their assets, and by corrupt companies like Enron and WorldCom, which were able to find favorable bankruptcy courts and deprive many of their employees and retired employees of benefits. The Senate defeated a series of amendments proposed by Democrats that sought to address those issues.

Lawmakers and lending organizations claim that by stemming the so-called tide of irresponsible bankruptcies by people who could supposedly pay back their debt, they will be able to offer better deals to consumers and not have to force other borrowers to absorb the losses these corporations face when people declare themselves bankrupt.

Seriously though. Is there ANYONE that thinks this will happen? The credit card and banking industries have shareholders, and their primary responsibility is to those shareholders. It’s all well and good to say, “well, we won’t have to take these losses now and we’ll be able to offer some great new stuff to our responsible borrowers,” but is that really what’s going to happen? Not that the banking industry is a victim anyway. The Times article quotes Ted Kennedy as saying the industry made $30 billion last year. Hardly hard times for them, huh? Even in a slow recovery they seem to be doing much better than many other corporations. So why do they get the deal of the century? As expected, it’s all about contributions to the GOP. This is a reward. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s yet another gift from Bush to his backers. According to the article:

The main lobbying forces for the bill – a coalition that included Visa, MasterCard, the American Bankers Association, MBNA America, Capital One, Citicorp, the Ford Motor Credit Company and the General Motors Acceptance Corporation – spent more than $40 million in political fund-raising efforts and many millions more on lobbying efforts since 1989, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

And get this… The Blue States — you know, the ones that DIDN’T give any of these criminals in the House and Senate a “mandate?” They’re not even the ones who will be hit hardest by this new law. Instead, it’s the same folks who voted these guys into office. According to 104 bankruptcy law professors, the states to be hardest hit will be the following: Utah, Tennessee, Georgia, Nevada, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio, Mississippi and Idaho. Still feel like voting Republican folks? It just so happens that many of these states are also on the “most uninsured for health coverage” list.

And before you start believing that this new bankruptcy law will only affect those who are irresponsible with their money, consider these statistics (from Families USA):

  • 51 million insured Americans spent more than one-tenth of their income on health care
  • 10.7 million insured Americans spent more than a quarter of their paycheck on healthcare
  • 6.8 million insured Americans spent more than one-third of their income on health care
  • Every 30 seconds, an American files for bankruptcy after having a health problem
  • About half of all personal bankruptcy cases are due to medical reasons
  • Among those whose illness led to bankruptcy, more than three in four had insurance at the onset of the illness
  • The majority of the medically bankrupt had been to college, had responsible jobs, and had been homeowners

Doesn’t it seem like perhaps the government could better spend its time on healthcare reform than bankruptcy reform? Why does it seem like the GOP has so much animosity toward those who vote them into office?

And another thing — I’m going to start calling them the “Spineless 14” — who are those Democrats who would dare vote with Republicans to allow only 30 more hours of debate on this issue? Joe Biden, you should be ashamed of yourself. And Robert Byrd?? I mean, I expected that kind of behavior from Liebermann, but he’s not really a Democrat anyway.

Please folks, let’s remember those who decided to give a pass to the credit card industry on this. If they’re not going to stand up and fight for the little guy on something like this, what can we expect them to fight for?