Would a REAL fan chew out thier own team?

[Guest_Randy]

Well, I'm just a little more peeved than usual.  Being unemployed for as long as I have been is getting annoying.

As for the government, I've made my feelings well known, but the Shiavo thing was really beyond the pale, as far as I was concerned.

There is another issue before congress now that we should all be concerned about.  The weasels in the banking industry want to change the bankruptsy laws.  Of course the new changes have nothing to do with a corporation going under, but if for any reason you go under, basically they'd own you!

This more than sucks, but the media isn't even covering it with all the stuff about Shiavo and the Presidents plan for Social Security, which doens't even address the solvency issue. 

So let me ask you, isn't this new law something we should be concerned about, and shouldn't it be getting more coverage in the media?  Especially since every company out there continues to send me applications for new credit cards.  Yeah, they're really being responsible, sending out applications to the unemployed and then wanting the government to bail them out by changing the bankruptsy rules!

But it is what it is.  Thanks for asking.

rick, i know what you mean, i have look up this new information myself, and yes it IS much harder for individuals to recover now. I think the little guy needs protectioni from the credit card monsters IMO.  they hit you up as soon as you get to college, what a way to hook and make debt happen, sign up kids who will spend liek crazy on plastic...

Come on, guys, it's not JUST the credit card companies fault -- they are preying on ONE thing that gets these college students -- their demand for instant gratification!!!  And who did they learn that from?  Certainly not the credit card company -- the credit card companies are simply preying on it!  Parents aren't teaching their kids fiscal responsibility -- and things aren't going to improve if people don't learn that.  Look how many people are out there today living on two incomes and every dime they make is already spent before they make it.  I heard a financial advisor of mine make the comment that the majority of Americans are two paychecks away from bankruptcy (meaning, if they lost two paychecks, it would sink them).  We need to teach our children how to save but unfortunately, we only seem to be teaching them how to spend -- and you can't blame that on credit card companies.  

[JoMal]

After some of the other things that idiot in the White House and his cronies have pulled and you only can find it annoying that they now want to change the bankrupcy laws? :rofl:  :rofl:

Bush getting reelected has given him carte blanche to essentially recreate the United States in his image for years to come. Environmental protection policies, honored by every previous president? Out the window. Business laws that protect the workers and keeps checks and balances on how they conduct business? Seeya.  Social security protection for retirees? Aren't they all dead yet? Declaring war on a country that had no involvement in 9/11? Who's gonna stop him. Not the voters of this country, who think he is some kind of Hollywood movie hero, decked out in his war threads and cowboy boots.

Never, ever vote for a movie star or a Texan for political office, because in both cases, you are not just voting for the man, but for those who back him, and they only get the backing from the most corrupt and evil of supporters.

Bush himself is just way too stupid to think of any of this on his own. The man was a proven failure before and all he has to really do now is try not to look too much like Richard Nixon in his fopsweat suit as he lies to the American public.

[rickortreat]

Very true JoMal.  The thing that frustrates me is that after 4 years, Bush was re-elected.  He is a disaster as a President, an agent of evil- if you believe in the principals this county was founded on.

How did he get re-elected?  How could people of reasonable intelligence vote for him?  I just don't get it.  It is possible the election was stolen, but proof is hard to come by, and if that did happen it's the Democrats fault for not investigating Diebold and the other voting machine companies, owned and operated by people sympathetic to the Republican party.

The country is so much worse off than it was, that reasonable voters, IMO would not have elected him.  Makes me very worried for the country.  I hear Venezuala is nice...

Chavez is no picnic, but at least he hates Bush.

[jn]

Aaah the bankruptcy and debt issue.  Welcome to my world gentlemen.  As I've mentioned previously when we have discussed our occupations I have told you I work in the court system.  Well to be more specific a HUGE chunk of what I do involves these vary topics.  

Let me say this new bill is just heinous for several reasons.  First, it allows many wealthy people to exempt huge chunks of income.  Sorry, I have forgotten the exact name of the shelters that are used.  Second it makes no exception for medical emergencies or job loss.  Honest, hardworking people will be lumped in with the deadbeats. Third, this was not done to help out a struggling, vital industrie.  By most accounts, credit card companies  had profits of $30 BILLION last year!

Let me be clear on one thing. I'm not saying that we should allow people to live extravagant lives, run up huge bills and then just walk away.  I deal with people like that everyday.  I know that one day I am just going to lose it and yell at someone whining about how unfair it is that they have to pay their debts.  "Hey, maybe you should have thought about the fact that you have a $8 an hour temp job  BEFORE you bought the brand new Lincoln Navigator!!!"

So yes, such people shouldn't be able to just instantly declare bankruptcy. Again the problem is that this bill is far too broad and punitive towards those who really want to make good on their debts.  

Another thing to consider is the nature of collection attorneys.  Their are lots of them who are tough but really just doing a service that need so be done.  Their are others, however, who are vicious, manipulative fiends who can turn a two month old, $10 bounced check into into years of economic servitude. It would take more time than it's worth to explain why but believe me when I say that if you become a debtor and want to make it right, it is frequently not your best interest to do so.  The whole system means that unless you get lucky and are dealing with a reasonable attorney, you will be punished slightly for your mistakes.  You will be punished harshly for OTHER peoples mistakes as well.

Here's an example of how the picture painted by the sponsors of the bankruptcy bill doesn't square with reality. Just today a collection firm settled a suit filed by the MN Attorney general.   This firm was collecting on behalf of a non-profit hospital system that received funding and tax breaks from the state in exchange for providing medical services to qualified low income citizens.  Soon enough the hospital and the firm turned this into a money making system in contadiction to the deal with the state.  They were double billing, illegally freezing bank accounts, and in the words of the AG, "generally skirting the law."  

The whole collection/bankruptcy system is cesspool and this new bill, rather than a cleanup, is like dumping another ton of sewage in.  The best solution right now is a massive change in American attitudes toward consumption and debt.  I don't see that happening any time soon unfortunately.  

[JoMal]

I agree Rick.

That may be the most worrisome thing about his term in office, that the majority of the American people think he is more worthy then, say, a more honest and intelligent candidate. What is this saying to the rest of the world? Besides the fact that middle America could care less about what they think.