I hear ya. I've known two people who filed. I'm in debt up to my butt, but I'm paying it off.

Back to the US and debt. My issue isn't with debt so much as it's with the budget deficit. Debt isn't the issue so much as spending money faster than we make it. (Though the debt burden we carry comes with MASSIVE interest...which is directly related to the deficit.)

BW2 ... You get a lot of "yep, that is about right" on your posts ... The hard part about getting accurate data from, say 2003 - 2004 is finding numbers from a credible source ... remember, BAD news sells ... so finding negative stuff is easy. Finding ACCURATE stuff is hard.

BJ ... My bride is an attorney, and she loathes bankrutpcy pieces of shi ... oops, I mean attorneys ... and yes, the laws look like they will FINALLY get tougher ... because EVERYTIME someone files BK ... WE pay for it.

The amazing thing is some in Congress think the problem lies with credit card companies making it too easy for people to go into debt ... A FREE society brings personal responsibility ... and to blame the credit card company is just plain .... wrong.

I'm glad to see the bankruptcy laws tightened up, but lets not take all the onus off the credit card companies. I spend a lot of time at the University of Minnesota and during the first week of classes the credit card shills line the student union. Getting a credit card is a personal decision, but throwing unsecured cards at 18 year olds isn't right. Testosterone, alcohol, and credit cards aren't a good mix for kids and I've rented our rental property to a couple of kids who have proven it.

Jorge ... If someone is not intelligent to handle a credit card, is that person responsible enough to vote in a Presidential election?

craig and jorge- y'all both bring up interesting points.. i think the REAL point here is, age is not a sign of intelligence. regardles of them being 18 or 35, their ability to grasp the concept of credit, debt, and responsibilty is whats at question.

i tend to see it both ways.. i dont thinjk its all togehter right for the CC companies to hand out cards to starving college studenst at 25% interest. but, i also think if the student decided to take it and abuse it, he should take his lumps and learn his lessons. aint that what college is all about in the first place? learning?

so, i guess i kinda agree with both of y'all. i got burned on a college CC. took me 4 years to pay off $700 bucks. but, it taught me a valuable lesson. the question is, who else is intelligent enough to learn these lessons. and whos responsibilty is it to decifer who can and cant handle the responsibility?

bigjohn

Craig, his voting decision potentially affects him a great deal less on a personal level than running up a line of credit that he can't afford. It seems to me that a lot of parents do an awful job of teaching basic financial principles to their kids. Do you think that the typical 18 year old kid has any idea in his head of what a bad credit history means and what the ramifications are when he may want to get a mortgage when he's 25.

So - this means your answer is yes. You think an 18 year old who is not intelligent to look at a credit card IS intelligent enough to vote.

Yes, It is possible SOME Parents do an awful job educating children on $$$$ ...

But ... are you going to say a kid does NOT know he has to pay the $$$$ back ?

And your point is? If a kid is paying 25% interest to Mastercard-that's money he could be either paying me in rent or even buying something from my company. Do you really think a kid with no credit history should be allowed to get an unsecured card? When does the practice of giving students cards become a form of predatory lending. Of course anyone who applies for a card should know he must pay it back.

I haven't really paid much attention to bankruptcy laws to make a decision on whether they are too lax or strict. But your posts had opened my eyes, man, is it really that simple? Only 7 years and after that a clean slate? Geez ...where's my credit card, im gonna order me a pair of EP600... 7 year w/o credit?, heck,it's worth it.

My point is fairly simple ... This individual is either an adult, or is not. But, let's take a look at this another way. Do you think it should be illegal for a credit card company to offer a card to someone 18 years old ?