Peering through the clouds

Considering the times we live in, we’ve got to take these silver linings when and where we can.

In a victory for Wall Street, Senate lawmakers voted down controversial legislation Thursday that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to rewrite the terms of mortgages for beleaguered borrowers.
The legislation failed by a 45 to 51 vote in the Senate, falling far short of the 60 votes needed for passage, leaving the bill unlikely to be revived.

You all remember “cram down” dontcha? We chronicled its’ introduction to the House back in January in Good Fellas fashion, here.
But far beyond being a mere victory for Wall Street and taking into account the margin by which it was defeated considering the partisan make-up of the Senate, we prefer to think of this as a victory for common sense.

Allowing judges free rein to rewrite lending terms without any real checks or recourse didn’t seem like such a hot idea. Despite whatever Dick Durbin says about the powerful banking lobby, we're relieved that at least this portion of the free enterprise system, the contract between two entities which is bound by law, has been preserved... for now.