Big banks are pushing for tough revisions to bankruptcy laws. That would be painful for many older Americans who are already struggling with debt.

Talk to lenders about excessive credit card debt and our somber friends in the wingtip shoes will paint a picture of irresponsible young nitwits. Young people want everything. And they want it now. Unlike mature, hardworking Americans, the lenders will tell us, the record 1,662,000 debtors who headed for bankruptcy court last year are goofballs who borrow with no intention of paying the money back.

So they should be punished.

That's why the immensely profitable financial services industry -- which now accounts for more of the Standard and Poor's 500 index than any other industry -- has struggled to pass a major revision of the bankruptcy laws.

Fortunately, passage of the revision has been stymied for several years. Until now.$24.95
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As this is written, a tough revision to the bankruptcy laws is close to becoming law. Deceptively titled "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003" (HR 975), one expert describes it as a "one-sided contract."

"This bill has gotten surprisingly little coverage, which is exactly what Congress wants," Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren commented recently. "(It's) no coincidence the House passed the bill during the week of the Super Bowl, the New Hampshire primaries and Mars exploration (news), when no one was watching."

Alarming indicator of stress
Warren sees the rising rate of personal bankruptcy as an alarming indicator of social and economic stress. It is the result, she believes, of failing health insurance and rising job instability. Her case is detailed in her book, "The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke."

She isn't alone.

Teresa Sullivan -- graduate dean and professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, and one of the authors of "The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt" -- told me in late 2001 that there was a mismatch between the increasing risks in American daily life and our financial behavior. And Robert Manning, author of "Credit Card Nation" describes the marketing practices of the finance industry as "predatory plastic."

If you are inclined to think this is some kind of pinko-liberal cabal rather than the conclusion of serious researchers, I have two suggestions for you.

First, read the latest "important notice" from your credit card company detailing the terms of use for your card. I read mine, from Bank One, and found a bunch of nasty fees and a long list of ways it could immediately increase its interest charges to 25%. In the Burns household, we pay all balances monthly and don't pay any interest, but the fine print shows how much can be extracted very quickly when you run out of money before you run out of month.

Older Americans in crisis
Second, read a new report from Demos, a New York-based public policy research group. It found a frightening increase in credit card debt among older Americans.

"Conventional wisdom suggests that this segment of the population -- with lifetimes of financial experience, an over 80% homeownership rate and a generational ethos of thrift -- would be immune to the record debt increases of the 1990s," the report notes.

In fact, older Americans are equally in danger of being run over by debt.

"Retiring in the Red," available on the Demos Web site, found that self-reported credit card debt among seniors had nearly doubled from 1992 to 2001, reaching an average of $4,041. An earlier report, "Borrowing to Make Ends Meet," noted that self-reported credit card debt may understate actual debt because it is only one-third the level reported by the Federal Reserve.

The new report also found:
That credit card debt for those 65 to 69 had risen a stunning 217% over the same period, to $5,844.

That about 20% of households over 65 are in "debt hardship," with at least 40% of their income committed to debt payments.

That having medical insurance -- or not having it -- made a major difference in credit card debt. Families in the 55 to 64 age range, for instance, had seen a credit card debt increase of 169% if they had no health insurance, but only 37% if they had health insurance.
I could go on, but you get the idea. You might also suggest to your representative and senator that they should do some reading before voting for the bankers. It wouldn't hurt to note, at the same time, that banks may be big political givers, but they don't have the right to vote.