Must Read

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


_
Kids vs. credit

What to pay first: child support or the credit card bill? A bill before Congress would make that question even tougher by restructuring bankruptcy laws to allow credit card companies to recoup more of debtors’ income, reports TOMPAINE.COM.

Recent Must Reads

2/28 – Military’s new anti-human weopon

2/27 – AP buys RIAA’s bogus line

2/24 – Tuning out Channel One

2/23 – Subdivide and conquer

Current bankruptcy law prioritizes payments like child support for debtors, while either cancelling or delaying payment on high-interest, short-term debt like credit card bills. That’s an important consideration, given that one in every seven debtors who files for bankruptcy is paying child support. The new laws would leave consumers with more credit card debt after an individual declares bankruptcy, therbey making payments on previously nondischargeable debts like child support more difficult to make.

Other parts of the bill would effect working families, small-business owners, and laid-off employees. Credit card companies and banks favor the new legislation, and were among President Bush’s highest campaign donors.

Read the TOMPAINE.COM article here.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate