Congress recently passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, designed to minimize frivolous bankruptcy filings and to require debtors to repay some of his debt. Once it takes effect in October, 2005, the law may make it harder for those with problem debt to have his debt wiped away by the courts. Most may have to agree to a 5-year repayment plan. In passing this new law, members of Congress suggested that our bankruptcy courts are filled with cases involving not ordinary citizens, but with reckless gamblers, shoppers, and drug abusers. Is that really the case?
1 would think, given the accusations, that the highest bankruptcy rate in the Untied States would be in place where such vices were common, such as California, New York or even Nevada. If problem gambling is thought to be the cause of an unbelievable bankruptcy, then 1 might assume that Las Vegas would be the bankruptcy capital of the world. How odd it is, then, to discover that Utah, 1 of merely 2 states that prohibits gambling completely, has the highest each capita incidence of bankruptcy filings in the United States. Utah? How can that be?
Utah has a number of aspects that, taken on his own, don’t suggest that bankruptcy would be a problem. Added together, however, these things create a recipe for disaster:
The combination of large families, fewer workers each family, church donations and low wages have contributed to an economic environment that makes it very hard for many Utahns to stay afloat financially. This is in direct contrast with the arguments put forth by Congress when the new bankruptcy law was proposed, which suggested that most people filing for bankruptcy are simply irresponsible. For many hard-working people in Utah, the new law may make it harder than ever to make ends meet.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.
Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a sight devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a sight devoted to information regarding structured settlements.