I know that many people take the side that credit card companies are excessive in their fees, and that some even use predatory practices to "trick" card holders into higher rates.. The way I few it, they are a business. All the information pertaining to the details of your agreement with them are readily available to you, just that most people are too lazy to read all of the fine print. I suppose it is the byproduct of an instant gratification society, why read boring stuff when I can get such a great deal today!

High interest rates and fees are no excuse to expect special settlements or bailouts, and even.less worthy is the person that irresponsibly charged up their credit cards without even thinking how the debt would be paid back.

Bail outs, be it for large companies, governments or individuals are never the right answer. True a lot of pain may come when one lives up to one's responsibilities, but in the long run it's cheaper and for the best.

Imagine, a world where people, companies and government HAVE to face the consequences of their actions.

Once personal responsibility is allowed to dim it darkens the future for everybody.

No, You get bail-out, only when your bankruptcy hurts billions of people and potentially can bring down US economy! ;-)

If you take out a credit card it is under the presumption that you are responsible for paying it back. It is borrowed money that you agreed, in all legality, to pay back. If something traumatic happened and you were able to honor your agreement and your payments, then assistance and understanding from the company would be useful, but you still owe that company the money. I have 2 credit cards I need to pay off. I've been in and out of employment over the last 2 years and putting food in my mouth and a roof over my head became far more important than my credit card bills. However, I am still fully aware of the fact that as soon as I'm able to pay them that I am more than obligated to pay them until my debt is paid off.

So no, I don't think people should default on their credit cards just to settle the debt. I think we, as a people, should stop looking for handouts and work our hardest to pay our debts or better yet sustain ourselves without going into debt!

Overall, I would say bailouts are just irresponsible and anyone expecting one, or thinking they deserve one, is out of touch with reality. If you don't know that there is no such thing as free money, then you deserve to suffer poverty paying your debt back, so you can learn that. I also can't stand those "I settled my IRS dept for pennies on the dollar!" commercials because what they're really saying is "you paid my taxes for me, America, while my lawyer found me a loophole!"

That having been said, the credit card companies need to be regulated so they can't be so predatory. They are raising rates without notice, and punishing people disproportionately to their "crime," by doing things like doubling interest rates when the person's payment is two days late, and intentionally billing close to the due date so they increase the odds the payment will be late. In the past, companies have also been sued for intentionally not applying payments on time and overcharging fees that were not in the contracts. In those situations, the customer deserves a break, but from the credit card company, not the rest of us. The government should be helping people by cracking down on the private business that is bullying and stealing from people, not by giving the customer cash.

Debt negotiation is just that - negotiation, so it doesn't cross any ethical lines in my mind. However, you don't need anyone to help you with it either; just call them up and do it yourself.

Also, if you're getting a bad deal and feel there are other options, you can simply exercise one of those other options. For instance, why not go to the bank and get a lower interest unsecured line of credit?

I don't think you should get a bailout if you have a lot of credit card debt, but you should take the initiative to see what you can do about it ethically and on your own terms.

I believe that if you charge the item you should pay the money. You know you will get fees and interest when you sign up for it. To leave it so that we can all pay it is a terribly irresponsible thing to do.

The bail out for a huge company (AIG) made everyone so upset when they saw how the money was used, in my opinion it doesn't make it any better to do the same for people that wanted more than they could afford at the time.