Copyright 2002 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San
Francisco Chronicle
MAY 27, 2002, MONDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B6; EDITORIALS
LENGTH: 363 words
HEADLINE:
Take that to the bank
BODY:
SOMETIMES bad things
happen to bad bills and it turns out to be a good thing.
Take the
bankruptcy bill, which has passed through both houses of Congress and now sits
in a House-Senate conference committee. The bill has been advancing even though
it would only encourage banks and credit card companies to keep luring people
into debt. So far, only one thing has kept the bill from inevitable passage -- a
bonehead provision by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that would prevent
anti-abortion protesters from using bankruptcy
laws to avoid paying court-ordered or civil judgments against them.
Abortion politics have no place in
bankruptcy law. A good bankruptcy bill should
make all solvent organizations pay civil judgments and allow only the truly
broke to avoid paying civil damages.
At least the bad provision killed a
bad bill. On Wednesday, as Congress was set to recess, committee negotiators
failed to agree on a bill after House Republican leaders balked at the Schumer
amendment. "This is a matter of principle," Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill, proclaimed.
It's too bad GOP leaders aren't cleaving to their other "principles."
Usually the GOP supports less regulation, not more. Republicans say they believe
in the market, but if they meant it, they'd tell businesses to solve their own
problems. Personal bankruptcies hit a record 1.45 million last year. Obviously,
banks are lending too much to the wrong people.
Democrats -- who
generally support the measure -- should oppose the bill because it's tougher on
some working families than it is on luxury homeowners. The Consumer Federation
of America complained that the bill would let actor Burt Reynolds "keep his
$2.5 million home (in Florida), while a factory worker in
Delaware would lose a home with as little as $1,000 in equity."
Lenders complain that it's too easy for big spenders to hide behind
bankruptcy law, and get someone else to pay for their debts. But last year,
Business Week reported that 32 percent of college students had four or more
credit cards. If credit card companies want to issue multiple credit cards to
students with no or low incomes, they deserve to lose money.
LOAD-DATE: May 27, 2002 
