How Do You Feel About Bankruptcy Law?

[tony detroit]

I think the bankruptcy laws need a total reworking from top to bottom. They are really making things bad for business.
When things get to the point that it really pays to not pay your bills, I think it is a problem.

 

[simm]

I agree. Take KMart for instance. Filed 2 years ago and then just purchased SEARS for 11 billion? What a rip.

 

[thomas712]

Agreed and K-mart was the first thing to jump to my mind as well. The way they treat there workers is just shy of paid slavery. This time of year they are already working folks one day a week and their dept. managers are running the store. I've seen one person running Auto, paint, diy, sporting goods, toys, and their seasonal area. ONE PERSON! Then they buy Sears. WTF! Protected by the chaper 13 was it? they got out from under their failed Builders Square venture, buildings that have been vacant for so long.
The last set of hoodlems they had were Conway and Shwartz? This guy Conway borowed 5 million from the company to build his home and then didn't have to pay it back! Gave bonuses to severel exec's and they didn't have to pay it back either.
Ohh...don't get me started.

 

[tangy1]

Tony,
Do you mean in the private sector or the business sector?

 

[007]

I THINK THEY SUCK!!!!
(But you knew that )

 

[tony detroit]

Originally posted by tangy1
Tony,
Do you mean in the private sector or the business sector?
Both are bad.

 

[wwfstyle]

I beleive that if a business is filling for bankrupcy then they can BUT no be able to purchase or do any big transactions like K-Mart did. As for the guy that borrowed 5 mil he should loose all with a longer sentence of that haveing it on his record.
My room mate had to file and he really needed it but now every day he gets at least 3 peices of mail for loans, car deals and such. I think they need to start looking at it more seriously and not for a high interest rate. Funny he got a loan offer the other day for 20K and payments where only like $350 a month but in small writing it was for 20 years. After I pointed that out he was bumbed. Some people need to take it more seriously tho.

 

[rangermonroe]

6 1/2 yrs ago I had to go there.
Lost my big money job, w/ bills to prove it. (Company downsizing)
18 months later I got a job with the FD making 2/3 what I was.
But with "late fees" which caused "overlimit fees" which increased "minimum payments", I couldn't pay the minimums...which I had been doing for several months.
More late fees, over limit fees.... one day I sat down and reviewed a Goodyear CC bill that I had used for years.
I never had more than a $500 limit (didn't need it), but had been paying it for 3 years at $20 a month, then $24/mo, .... when I had no job, my payment was $75/mo and my ballance was $700+.
The only thing that I had put on the card was a set of tires that had worn out!
Now, this isn't a "woe is me " story, but not everyone is a scumbag who does'nt want to pay there debts.
BTW Bankruptcy sucks. Thats why my wife is driving a '95 car that I'm working on the transmission.
It's not an easy out, unless you have no morals nor ambition.

 

[nflnutswif]

Bankruptcy, stays on your credit report for 10 years and secures you as a GOOD risk, for future loans due to the fact that you cant claim bankrupcy for another 7 years!
Go buy your wife a new car! that's what everyone else does!

 

[tony detroit]

Sorry about your rough times.
I feel many people buy things they shouldn't, myself included at one point. I also feel many people do not understand the finance system, rather they think, oh 250 a month, I can swing that. Next thing ya know they left themselves with a spare 20 bucks a week, miss one bill and they're toast.
All the people I know that filed for bankruptcy did it to themselves and now all the people that do pay their bills have to make up for them not paying their bills.
I know people that make 12/hr and live like puff daddy. Two years later they file for bankruptcy and can't figure out why.
The finance system baffles me with their lending practices, I know what you mean about offers the day after you file for bankruptcy, a fella I know had multiple offers 2 weeks after. I still cannot figure out why the extend credit limits to people that cannot afford the payment once it is maxed out. He had more credit than many well off people that I know.
The recent statistics I have heard are:
1. Personal bankruptcy is the highest it has ever been
2. Unsecured debt is the highest it has ever been
3. Population growth is exceeding job growth
4. Home foreclosures are at their highest ever
5. Average household debit is at its highest ever
6. The average car loan is now 7 years
SO, I'm looking at all this and thinking in my head
1. Housing collapse
2. Total economic collapse
Just some thoughts, I'm no finance expert, etc. just a guy that reads a bit too much.

 

[rangermonroe]

Personal finance should be taught in school. It is always treated as a "dirty little secret" in most houses.
There is no shame in not having any money until payday, but the kids need to understand that dinner on a CC is a bad idea (in most cases) and that $50 meal may cost you several times tht in the long run.

 

[alison]

Hi, I use to think bankrupbsy=legalized theft. But now after my sister and brother inlaw were almost there, I see different. They are normal, moral, paying their bills type people, but ---- happens right? I think they will make it now though, and not have to file. They nearly did though. They just had a series of bad things happen to them. I'm so glad they didn't have to file. But after telling the bank their problems, and threatening bankrupsy, the banks were willing to do payment plans, that they could do. They sold everything they owned, and drove real piecers, and now their almost back to normal with their finances. Sometimes you just can't control what happens to you. Even your finances. ~Ali

 

[nflnutswif]

Hey I understand first hand, but appreciate the efforts of those hard working people that (work) to (pay) their debts!
I don't work for nothing, but my husband is the main breadwinner, when he was treated for almost a year for cancer. We were financially challenged but made it though!
State Credit Counceling places will tailor make your debts affordable but they are strict! and they are free too!
that would be my choice!

 

[tony detroit]

Originally posted by alison
Hi, I use to think bankrupbsy=legalized theft.
In the business world it is.

 

[moraym]

Originally posted by tony detroit
In the business world it is.
Bankruptcy law is abused by some in the corporate world, yes. But it is designed to shield the general population as a whole from ripple effects of industries going under.
For example, without bankruptcy law, there would be very few options to fly since almost every airline has filed at one point in its history.
More importantly, the economical and personal impact to everyone in America would have been much worse had KMart not been allowed to restructure and retire portions of their debt. Losing those hundreds of thousands of jobs wouldve sent a much larger economic ripple through this country than that which was caused by some creditors being unable to claim their due.
Is bankruptcy abused, yes, it has been and will continue to be so. But so is every government program revolving around money. Be it welfare, farm aid, medicaid, or grants. The important part is that overall it is more beneficial for these programs and for bankruptcy to be in place.
Bankruptcy allowed KMart to trim locations and save hundreds of thousands of jobs. Which helped stablize their stock (a stock which is in many pension funds of completely unrelated workers around the country). This allowed KMart to refocus on profit rather than keeping head above water, and their getting together w/ Sears is leading to increased jobs, competition, and is overall a net benefit, as Sears was struggling as well.
So yes, there are some fat cats at the top who are making a sweet profit from utilizing bankruptcy law when in desperate times. But overall, for the common worker and common citizen, it still provides a net benefit versus seeing companies continually shut down for good.
All govt programs need reworking, constantly, and I just don't put bankruptcy law high in priority compared to some other government programs and legislature that needs help.

 

[QuintonMcIntyre]

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