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An Ounce of Prevention See what is
before your eyes and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you |
Jim Untershine, GZS of LB, 08-01-02
Credit card companies, abortion clinics, and custodial parents (CPs) are lobbying to make bankruptcy impossible for people who owe them money. New legislation looms over heterosexual taxpayers that dare to raise children in this country (see article that follows)
Credit card companies report "millions of dollars in losses a year from bankrupt consumers" while noncustodial parents (NCPs) who are forced into divorce are doomed to file for bankruptcy due to outrageous state child support guidelines.
Abortion clinics wish to "prohibit people who attack or block access to abortion clinics from declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying court-ordered fines" while court ordered fines can be traded for jail time.
Single mothers are "seeking child support from bankrupt fathers" while child support can not be discharged by a NCP in bankruptcy (USC 42 666).
Solution:
The credit card companiesmust capture the child support market.
The credit card companies could easily privatize child support and render family law "custody free in 2003".
"Custody free" child support is "welfare reform" and restores fairness into the family law system.
The block diagram shown below describes the structure of the child support account.
Requirements:
Point of Sale (POS) software modifications to itemize all purchases charged to the child support account.
Credit card summary software to flag illegitimate purchases made by either parent.
CSE must be involved as soon as child support account is created or ordered.
Benefits:
Allows parents to start an account to establish child support contributions prior to separation thus avoiding bankruptcy.
Allows either parent to charge the account for purchases to support the children.
Allows parents to customize a list of illegitimate charges that must be repaid by offending parent and enforced by CSE.
Allows CSE to react immediately if employer fires or refuses to hire a parent due to child support garnishments (USC 42 666 b6d i)
Allows CSE to modify employer child support withholding on a real time basis (USC 42 666 b6d ii)
Allows CSE to immediately approve TANF contributions if child support account balance falls below acceptable level.
Eliminates child custody as criteria regarding parent contributions since money can only be spent on the children.
Provides quantifiable data regarding the money spent to support the children for family of this type.
Enhancements:
Credit card companies and health care providers may develop many customized medical plans.
Grocery stores will not be forced to legitimize purchases or count food stamps.
Allows excessive balance of child support account to "spill over" to the children's college fund.
Jim Untershine, 824 E Pass Rd #3, Gulfport, MS 39507, gzs@gndzerosrv.com, www.gndzerosrv.com
Jim Untershine holds a BSEE from Mississippi State University and has 13 years experience in feedback control system design. Mr. Untershine is currently using the teachings of Werner Heisenberg and Henry David Thoreau to expose Family Law in California as the exploitation of children for money and the indentured servitude of heterosexual taxpayers who dare to raise children in this country.
Fri Jul 26,12:21 PM ET
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hours after making big business more liable to the public, Congress also moved toward making it more difficult for Americans to escape overwhelming debt through bankruptcy protection.
"In these hard economic times, while we're dealing with corporate responsibility, we should also address personal responsibility," GOP Sen. Orrin Hatchof Utah said.
After arguing for five years, House and Senate negotiators finally came to an agreement Thursday on a compromise bill that would make it tougher to get credit card and other debts forgiven in bankruptcy court.
White House Spokesman Ari Fleischerpraised the agreement. "The president looks forward to signing that," Fleischer said.
The legislation had been stalled all year over a Democratic demand for a provision ensuring that abortion protesters who are sued successfully may not use bankruptcy laws to avoid payment. But with the new agreement, lawmakers planned to put the bill on the fast track before going home for the summer.
The Republican-controlled House was expected to take the bankruptcy bill up Friday, GOP aides said.
How quickly it would move through the Democratic-controlled Senate was uncertain, but "we have worked hard for a year to make this a better and more balanced bill, and we have succeeded," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation applies a new standard for determining whether people filing for bankruptcy should be forced to repay debts under court-approved reorganization plans rather than having them dissolved. If a debtor is found to have sufficient income to repay at least 25 percent of the debt over five years or has at least the median income for his or her state, a reorganization plan generally would be required.
Under the current system, it is usually left to a bankruptcy judge or a private attorney appointed by the Justice Departmentto decide whether someone qualifies for dissolution of debts or should be forced to repay under a reorganization plan.
The credit card industry, which claims millions of dollars in losses a year from bankrupt consumers, has long lobbied for changes in the bankruptcy laws.
"At long last, we'll be able to close loopholes exploited by big spenders who have the ability to repay their debts and better protect consumers who have been left to pay higher prices for goods and services as a result," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
Opponents charged that, particularly in a sagging economy, the measure would remove a crucial safety net for people who have lost their jobs or face huge medical bills, as well as for single mothers seeking child support from bankrupt fathers.
Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., one of its leading opponents, likely will try to stop the bill by saying tens of thousands of people have lost their retirement savings and jobs since the Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc., accounting scandals became public.
"This bill is a dastardly one for consumers, especially in these economic times," Wellstone spokeswoman Allison Dobson said. "It should be embarrassing for people to vote for this."
The provision holding up the bill was targeted at violent abortion protesters. It would prohibit people who attack or block access to abortion clinics from declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying court-ordered fines.
A GOP aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Republicans succeeded in limiting the provision to only people who intentionally or knowingly violate the law.