Fathers of divorce
are often forced into bankruptcy due
to the unfair "child support"
orders, really "child extortion",
since it is usually many times the
actual cost of raising a child (sometimes
10X), and no one who does the math
can claim otherwise with a straight
face. These payments, which last up
to 23 years are essentially a welfare
system for ex-wives that the state
loves because it gets a piece of the
action for 18 to 23 years. The U.S.
government is today paying states
hundreds of million of dollars for
increases in child support collections.
This would be a good thing, if these
payments were anywhere near fair,
but they are not. So what has
happened is the federal government
has set up a system basically bribing
states to raise child support.
Some say these payments between different
branches of government are illegal
and unconstitutional - but no one
really cares because no one is liable
for this violation of the law.
This increases the judicial staff,
and funds more of the same. We have
created a monster here. Today,
with the equal rights amendment, it
is illegal to treat fathers differently
than mothers. After the children
are in school mothers should also
be working to contribute to their
family's needs, not living off their
ex-husband (who 80% of the time they
decided to divorce. This is a travesty.
It is effectively slavery for men
after any divorce involving children.
I is no wonder that the suicide rate
of men after divorce is more than
ten times that of women, because the
system turned them into slaves for
life to their ex-wives.
This legislation
is being pushed through by strong
lobbying groups for credit card companies,
who wish to give away more credit
(even when people should not get it),
this is called "predatory lending",
to milk the unfortunate for extremely
high interest rates and fees forever,
as soon as they stumble. A "7%
for life" deal becomes 18% or
23% overnight if they are late one
day on a payment. This will
just allow these companies to do more
of this and force people into untenable
financial situations where they can
raise the interest rates at will and
kepp people paying them for years.
April 4, 2005
Dear Friends,
The time has come to tell Congress
that Americans won't stand for bankruptcy
legislation that hurts families.
Contact your representative today
and urge him/her to oppose the bankruptcy
bill when it comes up for a vote this
week.
This week, the House of Representatives
is expected to vote on the Bankruptcy
Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection
Act (S. 256). This Act will harm families
and the elderly. The Senate has already
passed this bill and President Bush
plans to sign it. It is urgent that
you contact your Representative today
and ask him/her to protect families,
not creditors, by opposing this bill!
The bankruptcy bill is a misguided
attempt to "reform" the
rules governing bankruptcy in America.
The bankruptcy legislation will force
more debtors into inflexible five-year
repayment plans. Most people
turn to bankruptcy as a last resort,
having already paid creditors thousands
in interest and fees on top of the
repaid principal. Five years is a
long time to put debt payments
in competition with households' other
obligations, suchmedical care from
illness or injury.
If you have a credit card in your
wallet, you've got a problem with
this bill. With the threat of consumer
bankruptcy defused, issuerswill have
no reason not to escalate the fee
and penalty wave they've been riding
to record profits in recent years.
We need your help to send a message
to the House that Americans won't
stand for changes to bankruptcy laws
that hurt families, seniors and our
troops.
What You Can Do
1. Email your representative
today!
2. Follow up with
a phone call at 202-224-3121 and urge
him/her to
oppose the bankruptcy bill. See a
sample script below. Not sure who
your representative is? Click here
to find out.
3. Urge your friends
to take action by forwarding them
this info.
4. Stay on top
of this issue.
Thank you for taking action!
Michael Burns
Founder/Executive Director
Dialogue on Sustainable Community
Chicago, Illinois
--------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE PHONE SCRIPT:
When you call your representative's
office you will speak with a staff
assistant who is tasked with recording
your views and sharing them
with your representative. If you have
a personal story to share about
your experience with bankruptcy, or
that of a friend or family member,
please share it.
Nothing is more powerful than a personal
story!
CALLER: "Hi, my name is (name)
and I live in (hometown). I'm calling
to urge Representative (name)
to oppose S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse
Prevention and Consumer
Protection Act."
If the staffer asks why, you can say:
"S. 256 will hurt families, especially
the those who have been through
a length divorce, medical treatment,
elderly to care for. If this bill
becomes law, it will make it harder
for families suffering from job
loss, divorce, or medical catastrophes
to start over, save for
retirement, and meet future emergencies."
STAFF: Assistant will either state
the representative's position or
offer to pass along your views.
CALLER: "Thank you. Please let
Representative (name) know that I'll
be
watching this vote carefully."
AFTER YOU CALL: Take a quick minute
to tell us what happened when you
called by sending us a note at:
info@sustainable-community.org
|