Up from the basement : the CFPB begins to take shape -- The shattered mortgage market -- Auto lending : the deals and the dealers -- The CFPB in action : did the Consumer Bureau get what it needed to do what was necessary?

Just the way she planned -- The over-consumption myth -- Mom: the all-purpose safety net -- The myth of the immoral debtor -- Going it alone in a two-income world -- The cement life raft -- The financial fire drill

Intro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Americans in Financial Crisis -- Chapter 2: Middle-Class and Broke: The Demography of Bankruptcy -- Chapter 3: Unemployed or Underemployed -- Chapter 4: Credit Cards -- Chapter 5: Sickness and Injury -- Chapter...

This article draws upon data from a large empirical study of business bankruptcy cases to cast serious doubt upon two of the fundamental premises required to support claims that bankruptcy law should be replaced by default procedures established by contract. A number of proposals have been made...