Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

[Balldog]

The company I work for filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in February.

Today we had our Annual Incentive Plan Review for 2005 (joke). It has been reported that the company has paid out $13,000,000 in bonuses to the Top 100 employees.

Upon leaving the meeting I decided to do a search on Yahoo Finance on the company to find out that there are at least a dozen lawsuits being filed against the company due to "false and misleading statements to the market", "failing to disclose the Company's true financial and operating condition to participants and beneficiaries of the plans", etc.

Better get my resume ready.

[Joe]

fucking bitches.

[flere-imsaho]

And to think, it's Chapter 7 bankruptcy Congress decided to clamp down upon....

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

And to think, it's Chapter 7 bankruptcy Congress decided to clamp down upon....

and the insurance and credit card companies rejoiced!

[cartman]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

And to think, it's Chapter 7 bankruptcy Congress decided to clamp down upon....

not so much for companies, but for private parties. Once a company goes Chapt. 7, that's all she wrote. But someone isn't executed once they file Chapt. 7.

That being said, there needed to be changes to keep people from abusing Chapt. 7, not the wholesale clampdown that was done.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by cartman

not so much for companies, but for private parties. Once a company goes Chapt. 7, that's all she wrote. But someone isn't executed once they file Chapt. 7.

That being said, there needed to be changes to keep people from abusing Chapt. 7, not the wholesale clampdown that was done.

rigth, cuz its so much fun to declare bankruptcy.....my favorite is the attack on medical emergency bills and their resulting destruction to families. Most banks and creditors viewed a bankruptcy like that a little lighter than the usual one, but Congress doesnt want that. So fuck 'em on the insurance end and then when they cant afford coverage fuck 'em on the back end too. nice.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

rigth, cuz its so much fun to declare bankruptcy.....my favorite is the attack on medical emergency bills and their resulting destruction to families. Most banks and creditors viewed a bankruptcy like that a little lighter than the usual one, but Congress doesnt want that. So fuck 'em on the insurance end and then when they cant afford coverage fuck 'em on the back end too. nice.

That right there is the biggest problem I have with the changes they made. There is no difference between someone who had a medical emergency, and someone who ran up $50K in credit card charges. There had to be some safeguards in there to protect people who had to make a life or death decision to go deep into debt, vs. someone who just needed to update their spring wardrobe.

[ShaqFu]

Originally Posted by cartman

That being said, there needed to be changes to keep people from abusing Chapt. 7, not the wholesale clampdown that was done.

The new bankruptcy laws were put into place thanks to the campaign contributions from sources like Citibank, Capital One, MBNA, Chase, Bank of America, American Express, etc.

If you actually read through the new bankruptcy laws, they even make Chapter 13 somewhat of a nightmare for consumers. This is what the banks wanted, because it gives them more teeth in the debt collection process, which is regulated by a different department in Washington.

With so many people filing bankruptcy in the soured economy, the banks needed something done to keep the money flowing. With a Chapter 13, the banks get some of the loaned money back.

The real problem will come soon enough, when those forced into Chapter 13 won't be able to cover their payments and end up in Chapter 7 anyway. Regardless, the banks will have recovered funds they wouldn't have recovered had a Chapter 7 been allowed to begin with.

If Congress wanted to do something positive, they could crack down on credit card companies giving their cards to anyone with a pulse. The big banks frequently target college students, allowing them to apply with less stringent income requirements and sometimes no income requirement. Subprime lenders target those with blemished credit histories in much the same way. The government hasn't really done much to stop either practice.

[duckman]

Thanks to the new bankruptcy law, I have to scramble to get my Chapter 7 done before the law goes into effect (I believe it starts in October). It really pisses me off because I have a legit reason for doing so unlike some bastard who ran up $50,000 in debt.

There is a lawyer advertising to do it for just $100 down. I may check them out and see if they would be willing to do it.

[duckman]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

The thing is, most people have a legit reason for doing so, many of them due to medical catastrophes. The idea of the profligate spender who abuses the system is about as accurate a portrayal of the average Chapter 13 bankruptcy filer as the welfare queen is of the average person on unemployment - these people exist, but they're a vast minority.

It's the minority who usually fucks a good thing up for everybody.

Edit: Damn timestamp bug!

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by duckman

It really pisses me off because I have a legit reason for doing so unlike some bastard who ran up $50,000 in debt.

The thing is, most people have a legit reason for doing so, many of them due to medical catastrophes. The idea of the profligate spender who abuses the system is about as accurate a portrayal of the average Chapter 13 bankruptcy filer as the welfare queen is of the average person on unemployment - these people exist, but they're a vast minority.