Anyone else depressed by the Bankruptcy Bill?

[saracat]

And just when I thought there was hope! I thought Reid was beginning to fight!:cry: I am proud of Kerry as usual, but does anything else make up for this? I was just thinking that this vote was way more important than the cabinet votes because this directly impacts the people. Will Social Security matter? I was just beginning to give Reid a chance. I guess he isn't interested in working together. Any thoughts anyone?

[rox63]

1. I'm pretty depressed about it too

I have a close friend who had to declare bankruptcy after an expensive and messy divorce. And it was mostly because her ex didn't pay child support for 18 months, even though he had the money. He finally coughed up the cash when he was threatened with being sent to jail. By then, she and her kids were very close to becoming homeless.

Today, I was standing in line at the drugstore, and there was an elderly man in front of me. When the pharmacist told him that his wife's prescriptions came to a total of $200, he asked if they could give him half the pills now, and half later in the month. He couldn't afford them all at once.

These are the kind of people who will be victimized by this monstrous bill.

:mad: :grr:

[saracat]

3. Hubby and I are in a really precarious position.

he got laid off three years ago and tried to go into business for himself and it isn't working out. He has a masters in global management and has taken a job nights working until 2AM for $7 bucks an hour! I developed a condition which makes it hard for me to work and we have dipped into his retirement funds so we can pay the mortgage! I have skipped my medication for weeks at a time because we can't afford them. I know what you are talking about. I have a situation brewing with Blue Cross that makes me afraid to go to the Doctor's as they are questioning our bills. I am afraid to incur more. Yet we sometimes run out of money for food ,because we have to pay the heath insurance!( we were two years short of being vested when his job was outsourced! So, we didn't get health insurance! Grrr.) Go figure. I hope this doesn't come to impact me personally!

[WildEyedLiberal]

5. That's awful

I'm sorry.

[sandnsea]

19. Global management?

What's that? What kind of business is he in?

If you make less than the median income, this bankruptcy bill doesn't affect you. I think retirement funds are protected.

Have you been considering bankruptcy? That is awful. People just get screwed by everybody anymore. I told my story about my daughter's car wreck a while back, and that the insurance company cancelled us. Well, we got insurance with another company, who cancelled us and returned a portion of our premium. So we got a 3rd insurance company. Then, the second company decided they wanted to insure us after all and sent the cards and a bill and said they were going to take the money out of our checking account. They demanded proof that we had gone to a different company before they'd cancel our insurance, which is complete bullshit. But we sent it so they'd cancel it. Then today, I got a bill for that first month, even though we had to pay it in order to get the insurance in the first place and they have to know that. So now I have to go through my bank statement and get the payment and the partial refund to prove to them I already paid that. I hate these fuckers!!!

[saracat]

25. He worked supervising international teams for Motorola.

He had to supervise , coordinate and create multinational teams to do projects all over the world. He spent a lot of time in Russia working with a French, German ,and Italian team. He has tried to develop a real estate business, but it isn't working out. He has worked in all kinds of positions in his career, but there don't seem to be any jobs out there. We are even willing to move! But the companies like Motorala aren't hiring. They are only hiring from within. I wonder if they use those numbers to say they are "creating " jobs? We aren't considering bankruptsy yet, but we are hanging on with our teeth. It is simply awful. We do make less than the median income now, but the money we drew out of the reirement fund, which is in investments, because Motorola has you transfer everything, when they lay you off,, will be taxable and we will have to pay a huge penalty if we don't pay it back in two months!

BTW Apparently the ability to work with the French, and the Germans is apparently not considered an advantage these days ! And here is a bit of trivia. Bin Lauden's brother has sole say so over granting visa to Saudi Arabia. We know this because he refused to give my husband one! He approved the rest of the team, but refused one to him, so he had to work on that long distane. We never knew why. There was no explanation.

[TayTay]

21. My Brother declared Bankruptcy in 2003.

His restaurant went under in 2003. He laid off 12 employees and had to sell off everything to pay creditors. But, he got to keep his house (thank goodness as he has 3 kids) because of a provision in MA law that let's you keep up to $300,000 in home interest. (Some states let you keep on $3-5,000.)

While bankruptcy is a thing to be avoided at all costs, it is possible to make the process a little less painful for the debtors. I am glad that Sen Kennedy tried to do so. I am very glad that Sens. Kerry and Kennedy (speaking as a MA resident) tried to make US law consistent with what we have in MA. It's a terrible thing to go through. It's a shame that more Sens felt compassion for the credit card companies than for the people who elected them.

BTW, according to the Congressional Record, these Sens. voted against the Bankruptcy bill in 2001, that last time it passed the Senate: (March 15, 2001 - source is the THOMAS server.)

Brownback (R-KS)
Corzine
Dayton
Dodd
Durbin
Feingold
Harkin
Hutchison (R-TX)
Kennedy
Kerry
Nelson (FL)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Wellstone

This time it was:

Akaka (D-HI)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Wyden (D-OR)

I know who the true Dems are. 11 Dems voted the same in 2001 as in 2005. Just 11. Now I would love to see the lefty Freepers comment on that one.

[karynnj]

22. Lautenberg and Obama should probably be added in too

Because they weren't there in 2001. Lautenberg was re-elected in Nov 2002 after being out of the Senate for a few years.

[JI7]

24. John Edwards voted for it in 2001

is it because of the businesses in North Carolina ?

i know that's why Biden and Carper vote the way they do.

[elshiva]

26. I am sorry that this went down.

Damn it! But, I'm proud to be a Marylander. Good ol' Sarbanes with Mikulski joining with him this time. I gonna miss ya Sarbanes.:cry:

[GRLMGC]

2. Oh God, are they trying to appeal to fiscal conservatives

by screwing people over? Man, I question these strategies.

[JohnKleeb]

8. I dont know

but I Wanna know WTF they were thinking.

[GRLMGC]

10. They weren't

this pisses me off. We're supposed to represent people, not corporate interests. If I didn't give a fuck about the quality of people's lives, I'd be a fucking Republican.

[JohnKleeb]

11. I am happy to say that most dems voted against it but those who voted for

it, god what a foolish thing to do.

[GRLMGC]

12. its an assholish thing to do

I think it is, anyway.

[JohnKleeb]

16. I do too

[Withywindle]

4. Yeah, I'm depressed. And mad!

Well, I guess now we know why Reid couldn't get the votes together against this - he wasn't going to vote against it himself! And I was really warming up to his style too - I guess his style is good but we can't always trust the substance.

I'm really proud of Dick Durbin, though - seemed like he had to be both Minority Whip and Minority Leader on this one, and he fought his heart out but he wasn't given much to work with.

[karynnj]

6. Kennedy too

He gave so many logical, heart felt, emotional speeches on his amendments. So many were of which were just asking for some compassion or fairness. It is so disgusting that the RW so caricatures Kennedy. I can see why MA loves him.

[rox63]

7. We love both Kerry and Kennedy

Massachusetts is really fortunate to have two fantastic Senators like Kennedy and Kerry.

[Withywindle]

9. Oh, definitely!

Big love to Kennedy - he's one of the very best!

I was taking a personal interest spreading the Durbin love because, well, he's mine, and underrated. Both MA and IL are on the very short list of states with both Senators voting 'oh HELL no.' (Also CT, CA, WA, NJ, right? Who am I leaving out?)

[karynnj]

15. NJ has good Senators

Although Corzine will probably Become Governor this November. In which case he will appoint his replacement.

[LittleClarkie]

13. I know. Rush has been playing Kennedy's "Hello!" nonstop

as if it were a Dean scream.

I've come to really appreciate the ol' guy, bless his heart.

[GRLMGC]

14. Right wingers are such assholes

I swear, it's in their nature.

[karynnj]

18. Kennedy is just trying to wake up America's conscience

which I think has been hypnotized into a deep trance since 911. It's hard to believe that there are so many people who believe Rush's obnoxious garbage. It hurts when you hear that he is trying to destroy the reputations of people like Kerry or Kennedy. The worst thing is I don't think he even believes what he is saying.

One of the more annoying things I read during the campaign was when either Time or Newsweek had a story about the one guy on Kerry's crew who didn't like him. The strangest thing he said was that listening to Rush caused him to see Kerry differently.

[Hans Delbrook]

17. I'm depressed not only for what they destroyed but

mainly for what they managed to protect. That is, the "millionaire trust" protection. This whole travesty would have been a little easier to bear if everyone was taking the hit equally but of course the rethugs managed to shield the rich, as usual. Apparently only the poor need to repay their debts, the rich have suffered enough.

The fact that they got away w/ this tells me that the middle class is so blinded by this false veneer of "morality" that the rethugs have assumed that they will take anything they get shoved down their throats and up their ass and say, "Thank you sir, may I have another."

[foreverdem]

20. Bankrupcy was never easy

The way the repukes talk, you'd think people who file for bankruptcy go skipping into court, get told they are relieved of their debts and come out beaming ear to ear. This is not the case. You are made to feel like a criminal from the time you walk in, your creditors are invited to attend to cross examine you, and then the judge questions you like you are some kind of deadbeat. No one leaves bankruptcy court with a smile on their face. Plus your credit is fucked for 10 years after, which can also affect your chances of employment if a credit check is run on you. I went through this with one of my friends years back. Bankruptcy was not easy the way it was, but at least it was a way out for some who through no fault of their own had fallen on hard times.

[angrydemocrat]

23. Well I have to say like many this bill pissed me off!

And the Democrats that voted for this shit ought to hang their heads in damn shame because voting for this kind of garbage is not being a Democrat it is called being a "Political Whore"! A damn sellout! These politicians are being bought off by the credit card companies. And when a damn politician I don't give a damn if it is a republican or democrat take damn money over the welfare of their people they are representing on such important issues such as this bankruptcy bill they are acting like nothing but damn political whores!:mad: :mad: Not everyone that files for bankruptcy is a damn deadbeat as some of these politicians want people to believe. I hope the hell it happens to each and everyone of their sorry asses and they suffer greatly for what they have done to the people of this country of their damn stupidity and greed!:grr: :grr:

Now why do these politicians find it more important to take care of the credit card companies? Well look at this and you will get the whole idea (this was written before the vote yesterday when more than 14 voted for the bill):


Biden and Carper were two of the 14 Democrats who thwarted efforts to prevent passage of the federal bankruptcy bill . That measure is long a favorite of Wilmington-based credit-card giant MBNA, because it will make it harder for debt-plagued Americans (many of whom were lured down the path to insolvency by aggressive credit-card marketing tactics) to clear the debt in bankruptcy court. In a 2005 America where the big corporation seems to always beat the little guy, this is a pretty big win for the money boys.

Biden's been carrying MBNA's water on this issue for years. In 2000, when the plan was effectively stalled because a real Democrat named Bill Clinton was in the White House, he even tried to attach the bankruptcy changes to a foreign aid bill.

Why is Biden such a big fan. Those less cynical than us might argue that, well, MBNA does employ a lot of people in Delaware. True -- but could it also be because MBNA is Biden's biggest contributor -- by a good margin. According to Opensecrets.org, Biden raised some $147,700 in contributions from MBNA employees from 1999-2004, his biggest source of campaign cash.

Who is that in second? A law firm named Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub, which gave $127,625 over the same period. And who are they, might one ask?

Pachulski Stang is the nation's largest bankruptcy law firm with one of the most highly regarded bankrupty practices in the country. The firm's client list includes some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry as well as many of the most well-known businesses in the world.

While we're at it, guess who Tom Carper's biggest donor is. By now, you should be shocked to learn that his No. 1 contributor is also MBNA Corp. at $127,447, dwarfing the next closest donor.

But let's return to Biden, shall we? If you're not troubled by campaign contributions, there's more. Eyebrows were raised in 1996 when Biden sold his house for $1.2 million -- his asking price and more than a couple of a similar neighboring homes went for around the same time -- to an MBNA executive named John Cochran.

In 2003, the New York Times reported this:

The company also has ties to Senator Biden's son, R. Hunter Biden, a lawyer in Washington. Hunter Biden joined MBNA as a management trainee after graduating from Yale Law School and rose to be an executive vice president. Now a partner in Oldaker, Biden & Belair, a lobbying and law firm, he receives a $100,000 annual retainer from MBNA to advise it on "the Internet and privacy law," Mr. Freeh said. He added that Hunter Biden was not a registered lobbyist and did not lobby on legislation for the company.

And you wonder why even loyal Democrats get disgusted with the Democrats nowadays. Many Americans crave a political system in which there's a choice between the party of the fat cats and the party of the regular guys. Instead, what we get is the party of all fat cats versus the party of selected, money-giving fat cats.

And the loser is you. Remember that the next time MBNA offers you a credit card in the mail, or the next time that Joe Biden dares to run for president.




--------------------
JOESEPH R. BIDEN JR. (D-DE)
Top Contributors
1 MBNA Corp $147,700
2 Pachulski, Stang et al $127,625
3 Baron & Budd $54,000
4 Kreindler & Kreindler $49,300
5 Young, Conaway et al $47,125
6 Simmons Firm $43,500
7 Saul Ewing LLP $34,260
8 Girardi & Keese $32,000
9 Comcast Corp $28,450
10 Skadden, Arps et al $27,250
11 Richards, Layton & Finger $26,250
12 Cooney & Conway $25,000
13 Blank Rome LLP $23,050
14 Morris, Nichols et al $21,250
15 Sullivan & Cromwell $21,000
16 Milberg, Weiss et al $20,900
17 Cassidy & Assoc/Interpublic Group $16,786
18 Langston, Langston et al $16,000
19 BellSouth Corp $15,600
20 DuPont Co $15,575

I'm far from being alone on these feelings. And you know this is one of those issues that truly isn't just democrat or republican issue. This is a American issue that effects everyone in a very bad way. And you have people from both parties pissed over this issue. Not just the democracts and by hell they should be. Take a look:


http://www.redstate.org/story/2005/3/10/105835/413
http://ronbeas2.blogspot.com/2005/03/moderate-democrats-are-not-democrats.html
http://www.oliverwillis.com/node/2007
http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml?pid=2584
http://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/001206.html
http://www.bizzyblog.com/index.php

***Edit to add- I'm not one that usually will go as far as to call them political whores but this shit is just far to much and a low blow for all Americans!

[JohnKleeb]

27. Damn Biden

You knwo whose vote shocked me was Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.