If you’ve ever been tempted by the extraordinarily generous extensions of credit offered by our nation’s credit-card companies and financial institutions, pay attention, because your rights are about to be changed. Particularly for students who have succumbed to the temptation of the mountains of supposedly “free” money, the new Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005 currently being thrown around in the halls of Congress may have serious and personal consequences on how to deal with getting out of debt.

But let’s get one thing straight — we each accept credit at our own risk. It is the individual’s responsibility to decide for himself or herself how much liability they are willing to incur, and it ought to be the individual’s responsibility to repay their borrowed funds. No matter the changes in the law, nor the effects they will have upon you, nothing changes this fundamental truth. If you know you won’t be capable of paying back a loan, don’t take one out.

However, as with the rest of life, shit happens.

A family member could get sick, a job could be lost or (for us college students) reckless spending on any number of miscellaneous items could contribute to defaulting on debts already accepted. Bankruptcy laws are intended to provide debtors (that’s you, the credit-card user) with legal protections in the case of their inability to successfully repay the money they owe. The goal is to simultaneously give honest individuals a “fresh start” while also disbursing some of the assets of the debtor to the creditors in an equitable manner, so that both are ultimately better off than if the debtor was simply thrown in jail.

Indeed, the very intent of the law itself is to protect debtors — allowing for the increased flow of capital to both individuals and businesses. Without such protections, individuals and businesses would likely be vastly more risk-averse for fear of retribution from their lenders, greatly influencing and detracting from the dynamism provided by a capitalist economic system.

The new bankruptcy bill, however, will greatly reduce the protections the government provides to debtors by forcing them, based upon income, from one type of bankruptcy into another. Chapter 7 filing involves the liquidation of debts through the distribution of the value of non-exempt assets to creditors and is generally the most common form of bankruptcy taken by an individual. Should the bill pass, however, individuals would then be required to pass a new “means test” in order to be eligible. If their income over the past six months was greater than the median income of their state of residence, they fail the test, and are not eligible to file for Chapter 7.

If this is the case, individual debtors will then be forced into filing for Chapter 13 instead, forcing them to make payments to creditors to repay non-discharged debt. While this is certainly a boon to credit card companies looking to protect their equity, it is not their interests that are in need of protection. Such a move would likely have a chilling effect upon the entrepreneurial spirit of American small business, as well as force individuals to reconsider how much ‘good debt’ they are willing to incur.

There has rarely, if ever, been a better time in American history to get credit, particularly through credit cards. Certainly, the difference in risk taken on by the average consumer through using a credit card, relative to that of the creditor, is overwhelming.

This is not a question of free markets and personal responsibility — this is a question of whose ox is gored. The law already provides these protections for debtors, and weakening them to score political points with massive financial institutions will only hurt the foundation of our capitalist system. In In politics, there are plenty of times when votes follow the money. In this case, almost three-quarters of the Senate have chosen financial institutions over individuals.

As college students, we ought to be particularly concerned with the progress of this bill. College students are ripe targets for predatory creditors looking to milk our disposable income for all its worth, foolishly slipping off into an abyss of debt.

There should be no doubt — the open flow of credit across America and the protection of all parties’ rights are absolutely vital. Both creditors and debtors are equally necessary in providing the pillars upon which our economy is situated. At the end of the day, when consumers cannot pay back a debt, both parties lose out.

For now, it seems as though Congress has decided that debtors ought to bear the greater burden. To all members of Congress, know this: the citizens of this nation are your creditors, and your debt to them will one day be due. Do not think for a second that we shall be as generous with our votes as credit-cards companies are with “free” money.

Because remember — There is no such thing as bankruptcy protection for political capital.

Zach Stern ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science.