In the coming days, the United States Senate will debate S.256, a bill that will make it more difficult for Maine families in financial distress to file for bankruptcy in order to rebuild their lives. The notion that there is some kind of rampant “irresponsible consumerism” that justifies this harsh and anti-family bill is dead wrong. As an attorney representing hundreds of families forced to file for bankruptcy, I can tell you that abuse of the system is rare.

No one wants to file for bankruptcy. When Mainers do file, it is because they have been driven there by layoffs, medical problems or divorce.

Faced with declining real wages, job insecurity, long-term unemployment and rising health care costs, American families have turned to all-too-available and increasingly expensive “easy” credit. Rather than addressing the reasons people may get lured into steep debt, the bill instead will siphon more money away from these families and put it into the deep pockets of the credit card industry, which last year raked in profits of $30 billion, much of it from increasing penalty fees and sky-high interest charges.

I can tell you that Mainers do not file for bankruptcy because they have too many Rolex watches and fancy toys, but rather because they had no choice. We did not send Sens. Collins and Snowe to Washington to help the powerful national credit card companies squeeze more money out of consumers. I urge our senators to reject this flawed legislation.

Neil S. Shankman, Lewiston

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