Sticking it to the man

I had an interesting thought yesterday. Well, actually, I generally have dozens but most of them I don't share, and even fewer will I share in this kind of public forum. Essentially, with the Bankruptcy laws changing in October, there is a huge increase in the number of personal bankruptcies being declared. This change in laws were lobbied heavily by the banking and credit agencies and actually benefits them more than it does ordinary citizens. I had to declare bankruptcy a few years ago after I'd lost my job, my savings, my 401k, and almost the shirt off my back so I can appreciate the hardship financially and emotionally that one has to go through to declare bankruptcies. What pisses me off is now the government is making it harder for one to rebuild their life. We all fall down sometimes, and a good system of laws will help people pick themselves back up, not penalize them further for their predicament.

The gist of my idea is to federalize the credit reporting agencies and make them part of the Treasury department. This way, no agency will profit off the sale of my information - something which really unsettles me. They could then also tie my credit rating, now determined by a federal agency, instead of independent companies with shareholders and their own profit-motivated agenda, to my student loans, my home loans (when/if I ever get one), my Veterans Benefits, my Social Security, and even my federal and state taxes, current and projected.

Essentially, let's get rid of "bankruptcy" all together. If I'm unable to pay my debts to a credit card company at 26% interest rate, I file for "reorganization" and enroll in a responsible credit use class (like traffic school). My debts would then roll over into a government controlled credit account. I can pay my student loans, my taxes, my social security, and my credit debts by either having standard deductions from my pay, or my annual taxes, or, even better, through participation in community building and improvement projects.

So, it's more like socialism. But in my idea, big consumer credit companies don't get to make more money off me in high interest charges. They also don't get to write off the bankruptcy loss filings because there able to make a balance transfer to my national credit account. It will cause rates to fall, and competition to increase in the credit card world.

Since as a tax paying citizen of the USA, I'd also get a line of credit - based on current income and lifetime projections - to pursue the American Dream. There should be a away to leverage all my future refunds based on being an impoverished person making below the median income to get a long term loan to pay for some additional training that will raise my income.

Anyway, it's just one of many random ideas. Maybe I'll post more (shameless & desperate plug for feedback).

T