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Bankruptcy Shame - Or is it?
By Riggs Owen
This bankruptcy story keeps getting better and better when you peel back the onion.
Does everyone remember the big proclamation made by the federal government regarding their tough new stance on bankruptcy? The date was Oct. 17th, 2005 and everyone was being told that they should take the plunge before sweeping new changes went into effect drastically altering the structure of bankruptcy laws.
Well, lo and behold, after all the dust had settled, turns out that the so called "sweeping" changes were really nothing more than window dressing. To wit:
1.Bankruptcy lawyers are now required to discuss alternate options rather than just pushing the bankruptcy route. This is nothing more than stalling for time. Why? Unfortunately, most people engaging legal counsel at this point in their financial crisis are probably going to have to declare bankruptcy anyway. Personally, I don't think I'd go see a lawyer unless I am in an absolute pickle. I'm sure you don't either....
2. As a prerequisite to bankruptcy, you are now required to go through a credit counseling session, watch a video tape, sign off on a piece of paper saying that you've attended such a session. That's it! That's the sum total of additional 'hoops' you must jump through to make sure you qualify.
WHAT A JOKE! This reminds me of signing those documents saying that we've read all the fine print in the employee handbook when going through orientation with a new company...no one ever really reads it.
Of course, the sadder point of this story is that the new laws won't stop the flow of people who end up in this plight. The wonders of the jobless economy will take care of that. As wages in this country are suppressed due to the export of our labor inflation to overseas market, your average Joe will not be seeing the steady merit increases they were used to seeing in the old economy. No sir, the big employers out there are now migrating to what they call 'pay-for-performance' models. Which means, they don't incent you by giving you an annual merit increase. They will attempt to pay you for your hard work through bonus incentives. Their position is that paying a bonus incentive helps drive improvement in productivity while saving on the cost of labor because most employees won't earn a bonus. Only the top 10% or so achieve the targets necessary to secure the extra compensation. Get it? It's addition through subtraction. Addition to THEIR BOTTOM LINE by subtracting from YOUR pay.
For many, the option of bankruptcy is a new start and helps lift the enormous pressure and burden of debt off of their shoulders. It is one of the few good safety nets developed by the government back during the Great Depression and has helped rehabilitate many a family from an eternity of debt.
For that we should be grateful.
My point is, lets not play up the great new lengths the government has gone through to tighten up the laws surrounding bankruptcy. It's nothing more than smoke and mirrors and it sure as heck isn't going to stem the tide of people from going bankrupt.
About the Author
Riggs Owen is one of the premiere Internet marketing personalities and has posted more than 100 articles pertaining to home-business opportunities.
Please visit us at http://hits4pay.com/members/index.cgi?tpthunder
Also please visit Riggs at his own website
http://www.unchainyourlife.com
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