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Those of us who believe the draconian institution of debtor’s prison was a nightmare of the past have had a very rude awakening this week, with the passing of the so-called "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005" in the Senate. One has to wonder which "consumers" this new law is supposed to protect; the corporate banks and financial institutions that seek to get more customers into debt, or the average Joe who may be facing debt through no fault of his own, such as a job loss or a sudden illness to himself or a family member. Most of us strongly suspect, with good reason, that those who have been seeking to get this legislation passed are only trying to protect themselves. Which is rather an outrageous joke, considering that the banks and financial institutions offering credit cards – more accurately described as debt cards – were the culprits responsible for helping so many incur the debt in the first place.

Some may argue that I’m exaggerating, that eliminating the option to file bankruptcy isn’t going to mean that the jails are going to be filled once again with people who were unable to pay their debts. But am I, really? Think about it. If Jane or Joe Average can’t repay the debt for some reason, or can’t apply for bankruptcy under the new law, and the creditor decides to take the hard line and file criminal charges, where is Jane or Joe eventually going to end up? You guessed it; prison. A very frightening prospect indeed.

Of course, there are those who say things like "it’s about time; I’m sick of paying for these deadbeats." Or "they knew what they were getting into when they signed for the credit card; they don’t get to walk away that easily." Naturally, these "blame the victim" guilt peddlers will find a way to justify their own debt if it ever happens to them, but will always be less than compassionate when financial misfortune befalls anyone else.

Let’s face it; if the banks and financial institutions really wanted to protect both themselves and their customers from running up high amounts of debt, they would have taken preventive steps long ago. There are several common-sense measures credit card issuers can adopt that will stop the process of running up high debt before it becomes a financial train wreck for both creditor and debtor. For example, a first-time customer who has never had a credit card before – and no credit history for the issuer to go on – could be approved for a card, but would only have a spending limit of $500 to start. After a one-year period of regular payments and no late fees, the issuer could send the customer an invitation to raise that limit, but with two conditions. The limit would be increased to no more than $1,500 for the following two years, and only if the customer requests the limit be raised. This would mean that if the customer didn’t notify the bank whether he wanted the limit raised or not, the limit would remain at $500, not raised automatically to $1,500 by the creditor. By raising limits gradually, in small increments, over a period of several years, customers could better control their spending, and wouldn’t be tempted to run up high amounts of debt that they might not be able to pay back if they experienced a dramatic change in their financial lives. After all, you can’t run up a debt of $5,000 if your limit is only $500.

Since the banks and financial institutions obviously don’t want to adopt such simple preventive measures to keep consumers like you and me from running up high amounts of debt, it’s up to us to take them ourselves. There are