With so much talk of bailouts across the country, people are naturally wondering if their government will also be offering assistance to help individual get out from under credit card debt. Consumer credit card debt is becoming an epidemic, with many people owing outstanding balances they cannot afford to pay off. In years past, it was relatively easy to secure a credit card and run up sizable debts in a short period of time. The credit companies were making big bucks off of the late fees and penalties and kept extending credit to those who was not the most credit worthy. As people are becoming overcome with credit card debts, it is certainly understandable that people want to rely on their government to help them in their time of need but is it a plausible expectation?

Consumer Disadvantage

Until now, there has never been an advantage for the government to help individuals deal with credit card debt except through the process of bankruptcy. While it seems reasonable for the government to offer such financial assistance during a time when so many families are burdened by debt, it doesn't make too much sense unless the government was willing to offer a consumer credit card debt bailout to help reignite their consumer habits of shopping and spending money.

Is There Something In the Works?
So far, the government's foray into debt reduction assistance stands at the acknowledgement the Internal Revenue Service has given to non-profit credit counseling agencies that provide programs for debt management strategies. Otherwise, other debt reduction programs are not in the market for assisting consumers with their debt problems. In fact, the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) purposefully blocks any such programs that would help with consumer debt.

Grants for Debt Help?
There are some resources that claim there are free government grants that anyone can apply for in order to pay down debts. However, further research indicates that while many grants are available, there is none that can be used to pay off debts. Most government grants are intended for very specific purposes, not for paying off consumer Visa bills.

While it may be possible for the government to at some point sponsor such a program that would directly assist consumers pay off their personal credit card debt, there are no such programs in the works as of now. Until such a program is developed, consumers will have to continue their reliance on their own actions for paying down debt or the professional assistance of a third party credit counselor or debt consolidation company.