Archive for May, 2007
Must Read: James Scurlock on the Death-Squeezing Of the Middle Class
From Alternet via Carolyn Baker comes a must-read article by James Scurlock, of “Maxed Out” fame. James writes about the so-called “new economy” and how it’s based on the “cheering for failure” mentality of the credit industry. Much to the chagrin of that industry’s paid lobby, it looks (finally!) as if Congress is finally opening [...]
Saving Your Home
Here’s an article from the Washington Post about strategies to keep your home. While I’m all for consumers having all the information they can, I caution readers about making “deals with the devil” - a renegotiation of a mortgage that can’t possibly work in the long term, simply to stave off what seems [...]
I Don’t Know About You, But I’m Pretty Sure I Wouldn’t Call This “Lucky”
Professor Warren recounts the story of a woman who thought herself lucky because her Social Security payment was scheduled to come in the day before her mandatory credit counseling session (required of every consumer debtor filing for bankruptcy now, thanks to BAPCPA). That way, she could pay for the session ($75) instead of eat.
Congress, if [...]
SC Senator Takes on ID Theft Legislation After Wife is Victimized
It’s too bad it takes a personal impact like Lisa Cleary’s to generate interest in revisiting ID theft laws. But then again, Lisa’s husband, Senator Ray Cleary, from Murrells Inlet, isn’t your ordinary theft-victim’s husband, and he wasn’t about to sit back and let the opportunity pass to prevent others from experiencing the excruciating losses [...]
The Tangled Web of Student Loans at Sallie Mae
Elaine Dowling at Consumer Law Updates has authored an eye-opening post on Sallie Mae and the impact of its capitalization policies. Briefly, it capitalizes interest on deferments - adding back in accrued interest so that you’re paying interest on a much higher balance. All well and good as far as it goes, but what about [...]
From SmartMoney: Why There’s No “Trust” in Securities-Backed Mortgage Biz
Igor Greenwald, writing for Smart Money magazine, lays bare some cold, hard truths about the “collateralized” home mortgage industry in this article entitled “Banking Runs on Margins and Interest, Not Trust.“ While that might seem like a “duh” moment to some, I’d be willing to bet that to many homeowners, the notion of their mortgages [...]
“But What Will the Neighbors Think?”: Why They (Most Likely) Will Never Know (Unless You Tell ‘Em)
My good friend and colleague from the other side of the Palmetto State (i.e., Greenville/Spartanburg), Dana Wilkinson, has penned a thoughtful piece on one of bankruptcy debtors’ biggest fears: who will find out about my bankruptcy?
The likely answer: Not many. Your creditors have to find out, of course. And some family members or your employer [...]
Testimony of NACBA Prez Henry Sommer to Congress on BAPCPA
I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder to be a member of an organization - any organization - than I found myself after reading the testimony of Henry Sommer to the congressional judiciary subcommittee last week. Sommer had particularly harsh words for the US Trustee’s program/office, and it will be interesting to see if Congress [...]
Better Than Bankruptcy? Look Out For These Scams!
There’s such a stigma about filing for bankruptcy that often, I find, very smart people get bamboozled by crooks promising a way out of filing. Remember the adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And if you’re in financial distress, any offer of help can sound like a choir of [...]
Judiciary Committee Looks at BAPCPA
It’s an unhappy anniversary for those who work on behalf of consumers in our nation’s bankruptcy courts - 2 years since the passage of the laughably-named Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 - aka “BAPCPA” or “BARF.” (Some clever wit renamed it the Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Prevention Act, which I [...]
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