We needed healthcare reform, but got bankruptcy deform instead

In 2006, banks and credit card companies convinced Congress to "reform" the bankruptcy system. Lawyers complained that the reforms would have unintended consequences, but no one listened. Journalists wrote about the sharp tilt toward credit card companies and away from consumers, but no one listened. Now, a Harvard study reveals that the people who need a fully-functioning bankruptcy system the most are sick people. Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers. And in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illness, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid. So, to protect credit card companies and banks from sick people who needed bankruptcy for a fresh start, we tilted the bankruptcy code toward the banks favor. The result was that people taking bankruptcy could no longer save their home in bankruptcy, so they went into foreclosure, which resulted in a banking crisis, which created a recession, which created more families in need of a fully-functioning bankruptcy system. What we really needed was not bankruptcy reform, but health care reform. A modest proposal was made here on this blog last year. GM went into bankruptcy last week. Why? If you listen to the talking heads on FOX, it was because $1500 of the price of each car was to cover health care costs of GM employees (a silly, vacuous argument, but the one made nevertheless) and GM could not compete with foreign manufacturers in countries with universal health coverage. Yet, the stupid people on FOX oppose national single payer coverage for the U.S., something that would make our manufacturers more competitive (pricewise) with foreign companies. So, that is how we must argue for universal healthcare coverage: it is the only way to compete in the global economy. "Universal healthcare is good for business, and what is good for business is good for America." At least that is what I hope FOX will eventually come around to.