Bankruptcy Reform?
Posted: Feb 22nd 2005, 11:39 pm
This topic may be a bit esoteric and fly under most radars, but it is important.
It now appears that Congress will finally pass Bankruptcy Reform, they have been trying since '97. What this will means is that it will be significantly harder for individuals to file Chapter 7. For those not familiar with US Bankruptcies a quick refresher: Chapter 13 is the kind where an individual must repay all outstanding debts within 5 years, until now Chapter 7 is a total discharge off debts. The exception being student loans, those cannot be discharged under Chapter 7.
As someone who has gone through Chapter 7 myself, I can tell you that this is not something one does for thrills or because one is lazy. Your credit is ruined for 7 to 10 years. In my case it was getting very, very sick with no healthcare coverage. Had to pay for the doctors and prescriptions with the credit cards. I point this out because medical debt is one of the leading causes of Bankruptcy in the US.
For more you can read here:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N01733473.htm
Now rightly or wrongly this country has decided time and time again, that a Universal Healthcare system is unacceptable in the US. Fine, but don't be shocked when people have to choose between rent, food and medical bills.
I cannot tell you the sheer number of people I have met out here living on the edge of financial ruin. Individuals with college degrees in computer science living without health care coverage because they cannot afford the premiums. Individuals who work 50 to 60 hour weeks making $9 an hour or less. People who are one accident, one illness away from financial ruin. I have worked with many of them. They are good people who work very hard just to get by.
If these people slip and hurt their back or come down with cancer and are faced with thousands upon thousands of dollars of medical debt, don't we as a society owe them a way out when all other avenues have been exhausted?
It shames me to say that some of the candidates that I worked very hard for this past fall (Senator Harry Reid) have decided that campaign contributions from credit card companies and banks are more important than the men and women trying very hard to get by on very little.
Some food for thought.
-LanceMan
It now appears that Congress will finally pass Bankruptcy Reform, they have been trying since '97. What this will means is that it will be significantly harder for individuals to file Chapter 7. For those not familiar with US Bankruptcies a quick refresher: Chapter 13 is the kind where an individual must repay all outstanding debts within 5 years, until now Chapter 7 is a total discharge off debts. The exception being student loans, those cannot be discharged under Chapter 7.
As someone who has gone through Chapter 7 myself, I can tell you that this is not something one does for thrills or because one is lazy. Your credit is ruined for 7 to 10 years. In my case it was getting very, very sick with no healthcare coverage. Had to pay for the doctors and prescriptions with the credit cards. I point this out because medical debt is one of the leading causes of Bankruptcy in the US.
For more you can read here:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N01733473.htm
Now rightly or wrongly this country has decided time and time again, that a Universal Healthcare system is unacceptable in the US. Fine, but don't be shocked when people have to choose between rent, food and medical bills.
I cannot tell you the sheer number of people I have met out here living on the edge of financial ruin. Individuals with college degrees in computer science living without health care coverage because they cannot afford the premiums. Individuals who work 50 to 60 hour weeks making $9 an hour or less. People who are one accident, one illness away from financial ruin. I have worked with many of them. They are good people who work very hard just to get by.
If these people slip and hurt their back or come down with cancer and are faced with thousands upon thousands of dollars of medical debt, don't we as a society owe them a way out when all other avenues have been exhausted?
It shames me to say that some of the candidates that I worked very hard for this past fall (Senator Harry Reid) have decided that campaign contributions from credit card companies and banks are more important than the men and women trying very hard to get by on very little.
Some food for thought.
-LanceMan