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61 Ala. L. Rev. 1079 (2009-2010)
Vanishing Financial Freedom

handle is hein.journals/bamalr61 and id is 1085 raw text is: VANISHING FINANCIAL FREEDOM Mechele Dickerson* INTRODUCTION ................................................ 1080 I. FREEDOM .................................................... 1081 A. Generally....................................... 1081 B. Financial Freedom................................. 1082 C. Protecting Freedom: Historically ...................... 1083 D. Modern Protections ................................ 1084 II. CHANGING VIEWS OF FINANCIAL FREEDOM .............. ...... 1088 A. Financial Freedom and the American Dream ... .......... 1088 B. Thrift and Frugality (aka Debt is Bad) ................... 1088 C. Expanding Financial Freedom (aka Credit is Good) ............. 1091 D. Financial Freedom to Retire and Invest.......... ...... 1092 III. How MUCH (OR LITTLE) IS Too MUCH (OR LITTLE) FREEDOM ... 1094 A. Freedom of Contract ........................ ...... 1094 B. Debt and the Free Market ......................... 1096 C. Freedom to Consume.. ............................. 1097 1. Buying a Home ......................... 1097 2. Living On Credit .. ............................. 1101 IV. VANISHING FINANCIAL FREEDOM ............................. 1104 A. The Illusion of Freedom ....................... ..... 1105 B. Skyrocketing Credit Card Debt ....................... 1107 C. Easy-But Risky-Nontraditional Credit................ 1110 D. Toxic Mortgage Debt ......................... ..... 1110 V. WHY FINANCIAL FREEDOM IS VANISHING ................ ...... 1112 A. The U.S. Needs Financially Unfree Consumers ............ 1113 B. Bad Debtors, Bad Creditors, Irrational Debtors...... ..... 1113 C. Shifting Cultural Norms ....................... ..... 1116 D. The Devastating Effects of Vanishing Financial Freedom ....... 1119 * Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The University of Texas School of Law. I presented a version of this paper as part of the 2008-2009 Meador Lectures on Freedom. I am honored to have been invited to present this lecture, and I thank Dean Kenneth C. Randall for extending the invitation to me. I am grateful for questions and comments I received after the lecture, and for comments I received from participants at a faculty forum at SMU Dedman School of Law and from my colleagues, John Deigh, Angie Litwin, and Jay Westbrook. This paper benefitted from research assistance provided by Lauren Barrows, Anna Blair, Mitch Hassenkampf, Shasta Nolte, and Jane O'Connell. 1079

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