General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A Bible verse we will never hear quoted by any politician [View all]happyslug
(14,779 posts)In 2005 the GOP controlled Congress passed the Bankruptcy reform act and increased it to once every eight years.
On the other hand, Bankruptcy was hated by people with money, thus till 1896, the US Congress would pass a bankruptcy law, then repeal it a few years later and not pass another one for decades. This was bad for the US Constitution gives Bankruptcy exclusively to the Federal Government. Thus no Federal Bankruptcy court, no way to file bankruptcy.
Now, when Queen Elizabeth set up Bankruptcy in the 1500s, she ran it through the Church Courts, NOT the Court of Law. Later on it ended up in the Court of Equity (Which itself was derived from a Church Court). Thus a bankruptcy is an action in Equity NOT Law and as such if one is in bankruptcy the rule of Equity kicks in, the main one being "To get equity, one must be willing to do equity". Now the US Bankruptcy Court still has to follow the law passed by Congress (Such as it can NOT discharge student loans except under certain almost impossible to meet requirements) but the thrust is to be fair to all creditors and the debtor.
The equity rule "To get equity, one must be willing to do equity" is a church court rule thus had some influence from the bible, mostly indirectly in the form of the people acting as a "Chancellor" (The name for a judge in a Church Court and a name retain in many Courts of Equity).