Joe Biden: No True Friend of Working Men and Women
(Update added below)
Last August, the Democrats held a presidential debate in Chicago. Seven hopefuls participated, with former sportscaster Keith Olbermann moderating the televised event on MSNBC. It was sponsored by the AFL-CIO and took place before 15,000 union activists at Soldier Field.
You'd think the candidates at a Democratic debate dealing with issues relevant to working men and women would be asked about the infamous bankruptcy bill signed two years earlier by President George W. Bush. Oddly, you'd be wrong. Olbermann never mentioned it.
This wasn't the first time Congress had passed this shameful act. Bill Clinton vetoed it twice in the 90's, so we know where he stands. The credit industry, ever relentless, kept coming back, confidant they had the number of elected officials necessary to do their bidding. They did, and Joe Biden was always one of them.
The final version of the bill was cleverly titled the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005," but it wasn't aimed at preventing abuse or protecting consumers, and everyone knew it.
Arianna Huffington wrote on salon.com in March 2005 that this legislation was "so hostile to ordinary American families that it could only have come about in a place as corrupt, cynical and unmoored from reality as Washington, D.C." She concluded: "The bankruptcy bill is morally bankrupt. And so is any senator who votes for it." She defined the problem:
"So what does the bill do? It makes it harder for average people to file for bankruptcy protection; it makes it easier for landlords to evict a bankrupt tenant; it endangers child-support payments by giving a wider array of creditors a shot at post-bankruptcy income; it allows millionaires to shield an unlimited amount of equity in homes and asset-protection trusts; it makes it more difficult for small businesses to reorganize while opening new loopholes for the Enrons of the world; it allows creditors to provide misleading information; and it does nothing to rein in lending abuses...."
It turns out the average annual income of Americans who file bankruptcy is less than $30K, not the loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires gigging the system that we all heard about when this bill was debated. Also, the vast majority of people who file bankruptcy don't do so to strategically hang on to their mansion on the hill, but because of medical bills, a job layoff, or both. Real people, real lives.
I've never filed bankruptcy, but like Bill Clinton I'm moved by those demographics. Not so our Joe. Of all the presidential contenders lined up on the stage in Chicago, he was the only one who had voted for the bill. Not senators Dodd, Clinton and Obama (Edwards was no longer in the senate in '05), and not House member Dennis Kucinich. Only Joe Biden.
And he didn't just vote for it, he helped carry the water on it. Some Democrats tried to soften the bill with a series of amendments; for example, exempting military personnel at war in Iraq. Biden joined the majority of his colleagues -- all the Republicans and too many Democrats -- in knocking down every possible change that was offered.
For the record, Biden's home state famously holds the incorporation papers of large credit card and financial services companies. He obviously knows how his bread is buttered in Delaware, which means a "profile in courage" by 'ol Joe on the bankruptcy bill was out of the question.
Sure, Biden has a certain rogue charisma combined with what he's developed over the years as serious experience on the senate foreign relations committee. He's no idiot, and I support the Democratic ticket. But if part of the calculation in picking him is that he'll sell economic populism in the heartland, from Perkiomen to Peoria, that's a cynical joke -- whether it succeeds or not.
(By the way, this is an issue Republicans probably won't hit Biden on because they're as much in the same industry's pocket as he is, and McCain always loved the bankruptcy bill, too.)
Still, anyone who cares about progressive politics, or the salt of the earth, knows that the bankruptcy bill is a disaster for average folks. Joe Biden is a big reason why this is so. He supported it and voted for it, many times over many years.
That speaks volumes about how a longtime Beltway insider views the rest of the country.
UPDATE: I raised an eyebrow, and then my wine glass, when I heard Barack Obama drop the following little morsel into his acceptance speech Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver: "Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws..."
Nothing is in a politician's prepared text by accident. Not the 16 words in Bush's State of the Union speech about Iraq buying yellow cake from Niger, and not this bankruptcy item on Barack's economic wish list. One can presume there's been sufficient chatter on the subject, both inside and outside the campaign. Clearly it demanded a shout-out, and got one....from the 50 yard line at Mile High!
It takes a village.
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I too , among millions of other lawyers, were sruprised and disgusted that Biden folded on this bill. it is a horrible Draconian instrument that acts like debtors prison. what most people don't know ,is previously, any petitioner that was suspected of credit abuse or fraud was "punished" by having their bakruptcy reversed, fined, or even jailed. there were already plenty of rules and laws to protect the creditor. I am still and Obama / Biden supporter but I hope Biden has seen he made a mistake and this bill is repealed.
For those of you who think that Beltway Bette is off the mark I'd suggest you read Kevin Phillips book American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st century. Having come out of the Fundamentalist movement I can tell you he's right on the mark -- and so is Bette. We have more to fear from our own home-bred taliban than those crazies in Afghanistan.
The minute that John McCain played nice with Jerry Falwell he completed his transformation into another "ditto head" of the neo-con movement. He lost his integrity at that moment. . . .
Economist are writing papers about how the chages in the bankruptize laws have actually caused the U.S. Economy to go into this recession because the effect on Small Businesses giving the Large Businesses more rights.
Republicans were actually the people who abused the bankruptize laws some even got a divoce so they could go bankrupt every 6 years and them live off the other person credit 6 years.
I have heard them discuss how they transfer balences and get 1 or 2 cards free of debt before filing and then haveing credit from day 1.
you have no idea what you are talking about. anyone can get credit right after a bankruptcy, the creditors can also cancel those cards even if they are debt free or not, the decision to offer credit is up to the creditor, most creditors NOW will cancel your credit cards if you file regardless whether you owe them anbything or not, and evn if the don't totally cancel the cards they can charg enourmous interest rates (because you now have a higher risk ratings) or lower your limit to pocket change. the only abuses out there are creditors ofering huge credit lines and charing 30% interest (or more) and the infamous "1 minute late" payment "fines" that go as high as a hundred dollars for being "late". I also love the online payment option , which with some companies take up to three working days to post even though the eletronic payment shows up on your bank account as a withdrawal by the next morning. the creditor gets to charge interest for those three dayts even though they have the funds. multiply three days by millions, get it?
1 GOP touts bipartisan ship
well Biden did that
what go agasint MBNA and get kicekd out of senate?
all mccain did was supported in Arizona, he never voted against water grabs for instance!
Biden also made it impossible for experts to testify in contradiction to the evidence for going into Iraq in the first place.... among about 25 other instances like this..... this is nothing new...
Obama not only likes private mercenaries and faith based programs... but he can get large crowds of Democrats to cheer in response to his calls for more troops in Afghanistan... a new 'surge' if you will. Hmmm. He vows to "protect the American people by using force when he feels it is necessary" and to "increase the military budget"... (one that is overbloated and corrupt as hell). Those of us who have lived through this crap many times before... we would like to ask you 'faithful'... how do we cheer for things that Obama suggests, every time Bush winds up doing it... Citing Bush as a way to confirm Obama's foreign policy experience and decision making is not only faulty, but insane. And democrats CHEER this???
Obama made the crazy statement about striking at his own will inside Pakistan.... and democrats cheered that he was "so wise" when he said this... and why? Because BUSH ended up doing this insane act himself!!!! Is this the twilight zone?
At least the 4th Amendment doesn't mean anything to Democrats any more.... let me end with a Benediction... ugh!
uh i thought we were talking about bankruptcy and Biden? OFF TOPIC
Biden was wrong on that one, but that is one vote in a long legislative history. That does not define the entirety of who he is. (That's the problem with being a Senator and why its hard for them to run for President. Any single vote can be a weapon against you, though usually from political enemies.) In any event, I went to the Americans for Democratic Action site to check their ratings. In 2006, the last year Biden didn't miss votes due to presidential campaigning, he got 100% and was picked as one of the "Senate Heroes" along with the likes of Feingold, Kennedy and Durbin. See http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2006.pdf
p.s. I just checked, he had the same in 2005.
"Biden was wrong on that one, but that is one vote in a long legislative history."
Ah, but all bills are not equal, of course. Some pieces of legislation are far more onerous than others, and this one was about as evil as they come.
And it wasn't "one vote in a long legislative history." The industry had been pushing and pushing this bill for years. They lived through the Clinton vetos, and Joe was always on their side.
Before this bill, it wasn't like you could walk away from debt. Bankruptcy has always been a bad solution. It ruins your good credit name and a million other bad things, and always has. This bill took a noose that was already around people's necks when they found themselves in financial trouble and tightened it further, and strictly to the benefit of the credit industry.
That's what Joe supported, "many times over many years" as Williams says.
"Ah, but all bills are not equal, of course. Some pieces of legislation are far more onerous than others, and this one was about as evil as they come."
True, which is why the ADA ratings are based on the 20 bills in a given session they felt were the most important bills of that session. In the two years I looked at he was 40 for 40. If you think the bankruptcy vote invalidates all else, that's your choice.
The single issue of Joe Biden being MBNA's man like many, if nor most single isssues we are outraged about is rooted in corporate domination of politics which is curable only be removal of same.
Only going to that root issue DIRECTLY, (and not as we do now, all over the place, and get nowhere!) will make a difference; so start now. End corporate rule by Reclaiming Democracy radically. How? REMOVE CORPORATE PERSONHOOD! It is being done. A national MOVEMENTof several groups GETS THIS IDEA AND GETS IT RIGHT! Go to this set of sites and pick the ones you like:
~
~people @poclad.org, for a democratic insurgency packet;
~Reclaim Democracy.org for local action chapters;
~the same for Alliance for Democracy.org;
~duhc.org, in CA;
~celdf.org in PA and NH;
~wilpf.org in Philly;
~afsc.net in Ohio;
~shays2.org in MA.
Use local ordinances to test and defeat the corporcracy's constitutional powers. Read how even capitalists must KILL CORPOCRACY or allow capitalism to kill itself ..(again!) RAG MONKS book CORPOCRACY: HOW CEOS AND THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE HIJACKED THE WORLD'S GREATEST WEALTH MANCHINE (the corporation)AND HOW TO GET IT BACK. Monks names the hijackers. LET"S ROLL! ~ kill corprcracy in Maine.
This political 'Horse' race is absolutely ridiculous. Only (2) horse"s running! The odds? There isn"t any! We"ve got twins! Both corporation owned candidates are so similar it really doesn't matter who wins as far as corporations are concerned. We the people are screwed unless each of us stands our ground and votes our conscience. Simply compare each Candidates (Including 3rd parties) records. The answer will be clear that Obama and McCain are not for the American people rather, their own prestige and pocket books. I honestly am starting to believe that the American people are behaving like donkeys and/ or mules at the Grand Canyon. Follow the leader. The problem is the leader(s) are leading the people off the cliffs. But, they still follow because, what the heck, everyone else is doing it.....
I dont know how you can combine Obama and McCain's intentions about fattening their wallets, when you have McCain worth 37million by himself without his wife's assets, who was born and bred with a silver spoon, never had to work for anything, daddy bought his ticket into Annapolis and kept him from being kicked out, has been a major player in one of America's largest scams - the keating savings and loan debacle that cost us billions in 1987 dollars, who owns 8 homes, is so rich and wealthy that in the same interview he didnt know how many homes he had, he also didnt know he drove a cadillac cts all year in 07.
Compared to a Black guy that rose from nothing..on his own, took loans to get through a school NO ONE bought him into, that he Earned, was a Professor for years, worked with small community improvement projects, did charity work, and is still worth less than 900,000 even with his and his wife's increased salaries, their book and he pays on a mortgage for the 1 house he owns.
?????
Biden might pick up some Republican votes for this reason.
NO candidate is perfect, no VP candidate is perfect...you just have to look at what you can expect in a presidency from each candidate and base your vote on that. Nothing scares me more than the prospect of a President McCain. That, and that that alone, is all this election comes down to for me.
Those bankruptcy bills are a root cause of the housing crisis.
Any even casual observer should have noticed by now that American business can be relied upon to do one thing: To push up to whatever limits the law has placed upon them, and then as far beyond as they believe they can get away with.
That bankruptcy bill reduced the "risk" the financial industry perceived themselves to face when giving credit, so they did what any respectable (yes, that was "tongue in cheek") American business would do: They abused their new market.
I think the week's garbage on any street in America during the Bush Administration often has contained a pound or more of unsolicited credit card and easy credit offers...and when the jobs began disappearing and gas and food went up, there those offers were whispering "Use me, and you can feed your family AND go to DisneyWorld..."...."Pay your mortgage with me...surely times will get better, the President said the economy is 'Grrrreeeaatt!"....
lollll...on the other hand, that "easy credit" from the financial institutions and the Fed's credit policies did disguise what a horrible disaster "trickle down" economics and "free trade" have been by funding a consumer-centric economy that no longer was balanced by producers...so I guess the bankruptcy law also extended the Republicans' lease on legislative power.
you are exactly correct in your conclusion
To those pledging to vote McCain. This is what you"re voting FOR.
Higher deficits for US; more debt to China
Lower minimum wage
Less pay, less safety for the worker, greater wealth for the rich
No incentives for jobs to be in the U.S.
No Social Security benefits?
No habeus corpus, no protection from illegal incarceration of American Citizens, kidnapping/ torture, increased loss of personal privacy, more prisons, more Constitution raping.
Women will have no rights,Taliban style. We will have lower pay for equal work, no Roe vs. Wade, no legal contraceptives, no child care outside the home. Women will again die horribly from illegal abortions. More newborns will be murdered.
Crime will increase as criminal cartels take control of contraceptive sales. And the starving steal, mug, or burglarize to feed their families.
Since school vouchers are Republican"s way of siphoning tax dollars to evangelical schools and starving public education, our children will learn only right wing world visions and who deserves to live in it.
McCain"s ignorance of and right wing sexual obsessions about the Internet will create laws limiting its use.
McCain will reinstate the draft and a foreign policy inline with his antiquated warrior fantasies. McCain"s foreign policy naïvity will lead us to wars, perhaps WWIII. And the use of nuclear weapons.
And then we can all celebrate how we got even with Sen.Obama for not nominating Hillary for VP.
Or that we kept a black man out of the White House.
Congratulations!
Beltway Betty I've been waiting for news on those very things, but all I hear is the media endorsing McCain because he's a patriot because he's a POW and therefore must be the better Commander-in-Chief and the because the majority of people believe it, so of course the news can't burst their bubble. You know those people who thinks O'reilly factor is a news station.
You know doesn't POW mean prisoner of war? How does being caught by the enemy for 51/2 years in a war we lost, which McCain shoves down our throats incessantly, make you Commander-in-Chief material. I bet that's not politically correct to say, but somebody's got to be brave enough to say what some Democrats are thinking. John McCain said "...you win this war, by winnig it". Yeah McCain that's it! Why didn't we think of that, what were we thinking?
A little unrealistic, but pretty entertaining.
I do not necessarily think that she is being unrealistic at all...given enough time and the continuation of the current behavior patterns of the Republican Party, I think what she writes is damned near inevitable, should the Republicans continue to win.
On the other hand, I suspect that America would collapse prior to all of her predictions coming true for want of energy and food.
Or perhaps because some other nation (or even a coalition of nations) finally realizes that the Republicans tax-cut the guts out of America's military and infrastructure and we do not have enough basic industry left to run a war, and so we're ripe for the picking.
It's unrealistic.... for the insane, stupid or greedy. Guess you're one of them.
I gotta agree that this has stuck in my craw for some time. It has been explained away by noting Biden's unique financial organization constituency in Delaware.
However, I guess as a fundamentalist, I am more concerned about the religious right that voted for the bill. Whatever happened to the "Jubilee Economics" that highlighted Pat Robertson's first run for president. There is a scriptural mountain that stands diametrically against this legislation. Evidently, Republicans continue to lose biblical support and confirm their philosophy as valueless voters.
Additionally, it must be remembered that the law of bankruptcy is inextricably connected with the limited liability provisions won by unions. So what sort of legislative heathenism is being expressed in making bankruptcy tougher for the worker to attain and easier for the corporation to do at will.
However, when compared to John McCain whose campaign manager has been branded as treasonous by many informed observers such as Pat Buchanen, there is only one choice - the Democrats.
To quote Adrianna Huffington; "The bankruptcy bill is morally bankrupt. And so is any senator who votes for it." I feel like this nomination is kind of like that a magic trick, morally bankrupt of what really needs to matter; "What we see in one hand" as a country we may never not see in the other(s).
Biden says he can empathize with the American family; but to push for this bill shows his disingenuous feelings for that same family (He says one thing, did another). That's why this ticket bothers me so much; one man with little experience being partnered by one with experience who cares so little.
On the other hand, this is Biden's "last hurrah". He is no longer beholden to anybody for the next election cycle...this is his chance to be an American.
As with all politicians, we will just have to wait and see because nothing is set in stone. For instance, who would have predicted an infidelity scandal associated with Edwards?
McCain's dramatic transition from the McCain of 2000 to what he is now, however, virtually ensures that some person, group, or entity has their hooks deeply embedded in his soul...him, I would not be willing to take a chance on.