The Tennessee Liberal

Thanks to the utter ineptitude of Comcast, this is coming up here today, instead of last night.

The Bankruptcy Bill that is up for a vote tomorrow morning has been fought up and down, but here's an angle I haven't seen yet: the bill will have a detrimental effect on young people. Here's the text of a letter I sent to the not-so-good-and-by-that-I-mean-evil Zach Wamp:

Dear Congressman Wamp,

I am writing today as one of your constituents urging you not to support the "Bankruptcy Reform and Protection Act of 2005" (S.256) up for a vote tomorrow morning in the House.

This bill will disproportionately affect young people, like myself. Many of my friends throughout college were bombarded every day with offers fro credit cards, usually with free shirts and other incentives attached. Many of then signed up for numerous cards, never giving consideration to the long-term consequences. Most of them had never learned about the importance of credit management, and the debt piled higher and higher until they found themselves in a hole they couldn't climb out of. Combine that with thousands of dollars in student loans and the burden became too much to bear.

Under the terms of this bill, students who didn't know better will be made to bear the burdens of their college credit mistakes longer. They will face the prospect of never owning a home, a new car or so many other parts of the American Dream. Instead, they will be saddled with debt that they cannot use the protections of bankruptcy to avoid.

Rep. Wamp, please oppose the "Bankruptcy Reform and Protection Act of 2005" (S.256) today. Don't take away young people's ability to enter the world with a clean slate.

Maybe it's good; I don't know. But anything can help in these final hours.