In the US, bankruptcy is often used as an instrument of the wealthy, to escape earlier risky bets. And in some cases, to avoid taxes. Having such a severe puni

In the US, bankruptcy is often used as an instrument of the wealthy, to escape earlier risky bets. And in some cases, to avoid taxes. Having such a severe punishment is probably more of a deterrence against risky behavior in the upper 5% of society, rather than a burden on the impoverished. Without knowing anything about it, I would assume that the politicially-negotiated subsistence amount is probably quite lenient to lower-income folks.