The most Popular Posts of the past seven days.
Jun 13, 2009
Going down the tubes
"There are very limited consumer protection laws in Alabama...this together with a very quick and non-judicial foreclosure process is driving homeowners into bankruptcy, which may offer the only way for them to protect their homes."
That's a Birmingham bankruptcy lawyer quoted in this morning's Birmingham News in a story by Roy Williams identifying Alabama as having one of the highest bankruptcy rates in the U.S. right now. That's despite the action by Congress a few years back making it harder than ever for individuals to have the same bankruptcy protection as businesses.
What will state officials say about it? They'll blame the economy, as usual, though they are fast to claim credit for positive economic news that is also a product of forces they have little or not control over. Speaking of which, did you read where lame-duck governor Bob Riley is off on a world tour...three continents in all, looking for companies to come build in Alabama in the midst of the worst financial collapse since the Depression. Money perhaps better spent trying to help those Alabamians who are in court filing all of those bankruptcy papers?
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So you're saying Riley should not try to recruit new industry to the state? And what's with the "lame duck" slap? Oh, I forgot, you hate Riley -- and it showed throughout your time on FTR.
ReplyDelete"And what's with the "lame duck" slap? Oh, I forgot, you hate Riley -- and it showed throughout your time on FTR."
ReplyDeleteOooh... oooh!
Somebody's goat been got! Chip must've been knocked off the old blockhead, and he's itchin' fer a fight.
Them's fightin' words fer sure, Tim, ol' buddy!
Fight! Fight! (I feel like I'm in 5th grade, all over again.)
Who has the cigarettes?
*LMAO*
Yeah, I too thought it was uncanny, and truly odd how ol' Bobble-headed Bob took off at Alabama taxpayer expense on an all-expenses-paid, no-expenses-spared whirlwind, we're-not-in-recession tour of gay Pair-ee!
Say... didn't ol' Roger-dodger porkpie "I beat an extortion rap" Bedford also do Paris at taxpayer expense? Bedford robbed Alabamians of over $21,000 during his last "Pairs Air Show" jaunt. Riley's trip will undoubtedly cost much, much more.
Birds of a feather, it seems...
And yet I wonder... will Riley tell us how much we spent on his "working" vacation?
Remember his "Plane Truth" bill which he endorsed and signed?
Bankruptcy statistics from the U.S. federal court system, which oversees bankruptcies, indicate that for the quarter ending December 31, 2008, a GRAND TOTAL of 301, 317 bankruptcies were filed, of which 12, 901 were business, while 288, 416 were non-business filings, both which were distributed among chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13.
ReplyDeleteIn the 11th District, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia, for that same period, 1,972 business filings of all type were executed, compared to 45, 565 non-business filings.
Further, Alabama, being divided into the northern, central, and southern districts collectively had 8, 284 total business filings, with 8, 152 non-business filings.
While the 11th District's filings were high, there were not the highest. That distinction belonged to the 9th district (AK, AZ, CA HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, Guam and the NMI - Northern Marianas Islands) were 61, 395 Total business and non-business filings.
The 6th District (KY, MI, OH, TN) was in second place with 48, 814 Total business and non-business filings, of which 47, 450 were non-business.
This data is public information, available to anyone.
Here's what is stated about bankruptcy statistics on the USCourts.gov website:
"The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts compiles statistics on bankruptcy filings for each quarter ending December, March, June and September. The fiscal year for the federal Judiciary ends September 30. The calendar year ends December 31. Quarterly and 12-month statistics are available approximately 2 months after the close of a quarter.
"Additional bankruptcy statistics are available on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. Accessing the reports requires a PACER login. You may establish an account by calling the PACER Service Center at
1-800-676-6856 or go to: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html."
ref: http://www.uscourts.gov/bnkrpctystats/statistics.htm#quarterly
As a thought, the previous federal administration had a track record of being anti-consumer, which, I suppose, some might describe as "business friendly." Perhaps it'd be more accurate to say "Big Business friendly." However, I quickly differentiate that "business friendly" and "consumer friendly" are neither mutually separate or disparate.
Here's what's particularly disturbing about the previous administration's actions.
According to the U.S. Census bureau, "About three quarters of all U.S. business firms have no payroll. Most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses, and may or may not be the owner's principal source of income. Because nonemployers account for only about 3.4 percent of business receipts, they are not included in most business statistics, for example, most reports from the Economic Census. Since 1997, however, nonemployers have grown faster than employer firms."
So, it certainly does seem that being "consumer friendly" is GOOD for business!
(Can we put that in a pipe and smoke it?)
ref: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.html