An Argument Against Abridging Consumer Right of Bankruptcy

As our economy now operates, consumer credit is an essential ingredient in the mass merchandising of goods and services, credit sources and users share a joint responsibility in orginating credit and both share in its beneficial effects. Thsoe had debt losses which occur are small relative to sales and are absorbed by consumers who pay in full. In this mileu, abridging the right of bankruptcy would provide negligible benefits to consumers as a whole and to the economy. It would create serious inequity between (1) consumers who avoid debt through procrastination and those who avoid it through bankruptcy and (2) consumers and business firms. The first inequity would be accentuated by present differences in state laws governing debt collection. It would still exist, however, if all states had a uniform collection law. Consumer right to bankruptcy is a needed safety‐value in our credit‐oriented economy.