And we once again have debtors' prisons in this country. So if you can't pay your bills, including your medical bills, well, tough (expletive deleted). We even have at least one prison where you are charged for your imprisonment, so you accrue more debt that you can't pay while you're in there, thus insuring that you'll never get out. Just like in Dickens! http://thinkprogress.org/justice/20...-americans-jailed-for-not-paying-their-bills/
I moved this to its own thread -- new/different subjects should be in new threads. I didn't realize some states allowed arrest for failure to appear in civil equity matters. I figured default judgments (which are often fraudulent in themselves do to deliberate misservice of a summons) were as bad as it got.
The founding fathers explicitly did not want debtors prisons in this country. That's why the power to regulate and make bankruptcy laws was written into the constitution. Here we are again. Interesting that personal bankruptcy was made more difficult under Bush, when the credit industry got what they wanted. Bad move by the credit collection agencies, though. Given the number of people who are debtors in this country....just wait for the backlash...