I'm one of those people that tries not to be judgmental. As the Good Book says "Judge not that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). Nevertheless, there exist human vermin and there is no point in pretending otherwise. Among the most despicable of those vermin are creditors and collectors that prey on the weak and the elderly.

Social Security benefits are protected by federal law from almost all form of garnishment, but many elderly are discovering that their directly-deposited checks disappear through garnishment or by a trick called "setoff," whereby a creditor bank simply claims that it is exempt from the law when the account holder owes it money.

Social philosopher Amitai Etzioni has written an angry diary in the Daily Kos on the practice, and the practice ought to make us angry, as well:

Federal law says Social Security can't be taken to repay debts. Section 207 of the Social Security Act reads, "none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this title shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law." However, banks claim the federal ban on capturing Social Security benefits to repay debts doesn't apply to them. They cite the doctrine of "set-off," which says banks can collect money that customers owe them by taking it out of customers' accounts.

Are we returning to the world of Charles Dickens? Sometimes it seems so.

Amitai Etzioni: Where is the voice? First shoot the debt collectors