Welcome. As the debate , or lack of debate, over changes to bankruptcy law proceeded in Congress this spring, I found myself with strong and personal opinions about the subject. From its start in 1998, I have tried to keep the tone and content of Bankruptcy in Brief objective, balanced between debtor and creditor, and dispassionate. This forum allows me escape from those contraints.

There are 114 days until the new law kicks in. Options for righting a listing financial ship that exist today will vanish on October 17th. I want to reach as many individuals as possible with the message that a window exists for putting your financial house in order. It requires that you stop kidding yourself that you can solve overwhelming debt problems with good intentions or perservance.

I now believe that individuals with financial problems virtually cannot escape the credit card quagmire: default interest rates, late penalties, and arbitrary fees doom the financially challenged to perpetual indebtedness. Even those who can perhaps would be better off spending those funds for health insurance, an emergency reserve or retirement.

Cathy Moran