The beat goes on - the standard of living slips away

"Now the results of a new study by Elizabeth Warren of Harvard Law School and Deborah Thorne of Ohio University finds that as of 2007, bankruptcy has become a phenomenon of the middle class."

"When credit card companies lobbied Congress for revisions to the bankruptcy code, they claimed interest rates would go down, saving the average family $300 a year. The new law took effect in October 2005 and bankruptcy filings temporarily declined, but interest rates did not."

"The middle class is adjusting by spending less and saving more, however, unless banks modify under-water mortgages, hold the line on interest rates and we have significant health insurance reform, middle-class workers will remain vulnerable and we will continue to see them in bankruptcy court."     Jeffrey Freedman

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