Call it déjà vu. Despite reforms intended to make it harder to file for bankruptcy, consumer filings continue to march steadily higher toward the rate they were before legislation was overhauled in 2005.

The goals of the controversial 2005 Bankruptcy Reform were to both lower the number of those filing bankruptcy and also to increase the amount recovered post bankruptcy by forcing consumers into Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Seeing the latest data, it is clear that both of these goals have been failures - however the unique way in which they have failed is worth investigating.

From January to August, national bankruptcy filings reached 954,911, up from 703,732 in the same period of 2008, according to Automated Access to Court Electronic Records. In August, filings were up 22% compared with August 2008.

In the 1990s and early 2000s more Americans than ever filed for personal bankruptcy. On April 20, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act into law. The bill was meant to put more money into the hands of creditors, and crack down on filers.

Business Week’s recent article seems to think so. More than 100,000 companies—about one in every 270 American businesses—have landed in bankruptcy court since the downturn began 18 months ago, according to data compiled by Oklahoma City-based Jupiter eSources.