We're Number One! Again!

[DeSwiss]

Tennessee Has Nation's Highest Bankruptcy Rate

NewsChannel 5
Updated: June 9, 2008 05:05 PM CDT



NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee continues to lead the nation in the rate of personal bankruptcy filings. The number of Tennesseans filing for protection is more than twice the national average during the first quarter of 2008, according to a report released last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Bankruptcy filings are up more than 25 percent across the country. Some people blame it on factors such as the economy or divorce. Others say filing bankruptcy is part of the Southern culture.

Stephanie Bowen is in the middle of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Bowen said her recent divorce left her with no other option. "I was working two jobs and I'm paying for a house that I can't even afford, so it was my only step out of trying to at least live a normal life," she said. Nationwide, during this year's first quarter, three out of 1,000 people filed bankruptcies. In Tennessee, the rate is more than six or more than twice the national average. Georgia and Alabama are next followed by Indiana and Michigan.

Bankruptcy attorney Maria Salas blames part of it on the state's divorce rate. Tennessee usually makes or comes close to making the top 10 list. "Divorce is one of the main three reasons that people often have to file bankruptcy coupled with some kind of loss of income, reduction in income or catastrophic medical issue without enough insurance," Salas said. Others blame high gas and food prices, but that's happening everywhere. Attorney Eric Fox thinks bankruptcy is part of Tennessee's culture. "I understand Tennessee is kind of, has led the way in bankruptcy law and Chapter 13 debt reorganization, which was developed in Tennessee," Fox said.

Chapter 13 lets you pay creditors back on a schedule. Salas said paying them back has always been important in the South. "People here from the South come in and they tell me, ‘I don't want to file a complete bankruptcy. I want to pay my bills. I just can't afford to pay everybody right now what I owe,'" she said. While Tennessee is No. 1 in bankruptcy filings, it's also No. 1 for paying back debt. Last year, creditors in larger states such as California recovered half as much as creditors in Tennessee.

http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=8449786">LINK

- So, does the fact that we file bankruptcy more than anyone else, but alternately pay debts back more than anyone else, cancel each other out????

Okay, yeah. I'm trying to find some positive spin here....
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DeSwiss


http://atheisttoolbox.com/">The Atheist Toolbox

[tnlefty]

1. I started to post this Sun. when it was in the local paper, but

I found it too depressing.

I have no idea what the statement about filing bankruptcy is part of the Southern culture is implying! :crazy: :wtf:

I thought is was to be avoided....but what the hell do I know?

edit for a little more clarity

[DeSwiss]

2. I agree that its depressing....

...and its something I'm all too familiar with. I see apartment applicants everyday with Chapter 13 filings listed on their CRs. And oddly, its often for relatively small amounts (under $5000), and will include creditors like Blockbuster Video and cellphone service providers. And credit card holders, of course.

And I've been taken to the cleaners by the bankruptcy courts for years. I had one case that owed $1700 and we were repaid at $15 per month for almost 10 years. And many won't even pay that, as they'll often convert their Chapter 13s into Chapter 7s where they have to pay no one back.

Earlier in my career, I was a housing counselor for many years trying to help low-income families become homeowners. But most of the young people coming out of school today are lucky if they even have "average" arithmetic skills sufficient enough to be able to balance their own checkbook. And the unrelenting drumbeat of easy credit hasn't help any either.

- Why Tennessee is at the top of this heap and seems to stay there, I have no idea. Maybe its not in our culture, but in the water????

[tnlefty]

3. Well, I think that it has something to do with the number of

various plants closing and moving to other countries, too.

For part of our oldest son's graduation present, we opened a 'trainer' checking account for him, with the stipulation that he had to be responsible for it. He doesn't even want a credit card, and you wouldn't believe the flood of those offers coming into the mailbox. I think that recently the credit card offers have outnumbered the mailings from various branches of the military!

Jeebus, for the past year plus my spouse has been dealing with people who can't pay their electric bills anymore. Some are asshats, but the majority are people who've had their jobs leave them, or their hours have been cut and they can't find another job to pick up the slack.

[southerncrone]

5. There is a plan to try to keep this from becoming our legacy.

I just got back from a conference in Gatlinburg for teachers to teach Personal Finance. The state passed a law that students who will be 8th graders this coming fall MUST take (& pass) Personal Finance to graduate from HS. I only wish it went in to effect earlier, but this is a start.

TN is one of only 3 states to have such a plan or law.

I am extremely excited about this. I already teach Financial Planning & Accounting at the HS level, but they are elective courses, and many students don't take them. Making this REQUIRED for graduation is a big step in the right direction. So many students have learned their financial "skills" from a generation of parents who are so into the instant gratification mode & buried in credit card debit, that they think it is a way of life, & don't know there IS a better way.

Now we need to work on that divorce rate. I believe lack of birth control info is another big factor. Too many kids having kids too early before they can get a decent life foundation built.

I'll be doing my part to turn this around! And gladly!

Hey, DeSwiss! :hi:

[NashVegas]

4. I Have to Wonder About Music Row

And how many people make these quick little fortunes, then overspend, thinking they'll be set for life.