Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Introduction to debt crisis
Debt in america research paper
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Introduction to debt crisis
Debt is one of the most common problems in the US right now, with the average indebted household revolving balance being around of $15,000. To some, this is just part of the normal occurrences of their life, but for others, this debt passes the point of average and starts becoming unmanageable. The worst part of this reality, is that for the most part, it is people’s poor decision the determining factor in these cases. Most of the times, when debt reaches this point people get so overwhelmed that in the look for solutions they only made things worse, to the point that they end up with only one possible alternative: file for bankruptcy, which is a process that allows consumers and businesses to get out from under debt with the protection of the federal bankruptcy court. For the most part, bankruptcies …show more content…
This work will defend the statement of how the bankruptcy relief granted to individuals under Chapters 7 and 13 is undermining business operations by forgiving debts owed to businesses and should be stopped.
Opinion
The idea in question is very accurate, and should be taken into consideration when making long term decisions. Nobody forces a person to get a loan from creditors to be able to afford more than their means can reach. Most of the time, it is this people the ones that place themselves in very precarious situations with very poor decisions. Beyond that, what happens to the business that is owed the money when these people file for bankruptcy under the chapters being discussed?
Chapter 7 is the single most common type of bankruptcy filed in
...ancial positions of the borrowers, their lack of knowledge as well as the superior bargaining power of the lender to get the borrowers to agree to these loans. The lenders should bear the major responsibility of these loans, as they are aware of the ramifications of such transactions. The borrowers are also responsible, as they should not enter into contracts without adequately understanding the consequences of such actions. In many cases, the lenders do not provide the information that would assist the borrower in making rational decisions. There are instances when the borrower does not care about the increased penalties, they just want to get their hands on the money, and worry about the consequences later. Some borrowers just live beyond their means but once they get sucked into a predatory loan, they begin a cycle of debt that they just cannot get out of.
This, therefore, is ultimately my solution: Since Americans are ruled more by their appetites more than by reason, and since I doubt that our politicians, because of their love of money, can be trusted to act solely in the interest of the citizens who put them in office, there must be legislation dictating that lenders lend at their own risk.
Corporate bankruptcy is an important issue for investors, debt holders, and managers. The implications of bankruptcy proceedings can have a tremendous impact on economic outcomes; thus, it is vital for all parties to be versed in the framework and procedure of a bankruptcy. This study will attempt to address several issues, such as the costs of bankruptcy between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11, the risks undertaken in proceedings (looking primarily at APR violations), and conflicts of interest amongst the aforementioned agents of a bankruptcy proceeding. Initially, a historical summary of U.S. bankruptcy laws will be undertaken, as bankruptcy code has been reformed quite frequently.
To understand the student debt crisis, one must first understand what caused it and what results from it. College undergraduates use student loans to finance the cost of tuition, room, board, transportation, and personal expenses while attending (Gage and Lorin). Student loans are different from other forms of debt because basic consumer rights like bankruptcy protection don’t apply to students who default on their loans. As a result, students are virtually locked into their debt, offering them little to no ability to refinance it. Solutions to debt problems like consolidation are available to students but that process doesn’t involve shopping for a better deal from competing lenders like it does in other debt areas. Therefore, interest rates often remain high and the loans remain with the original lender (Vanegeren). As Kayla Webley expl...
One cold morning Sam Black woke up with aching chest pain. Troubled by this new condition he went to see his Heart Doctor. Little did Sam know that hours later he would be lying on the operating table in route for a triple bypass surgery. The surgery went as planned, but it was not the last of them. Sam was sent to many specialists and rehabilitation centers, building a large bill, which they had no money to pay them with. He still pays several grand a year for the medication he is prescribed. Years after the operation Sam and his wife, Elsie, have narrowly escaped foreclose, however the most problematic debt they have is the hundreds of small term loans with interest rates in the triple digits. Elsie once said in an interview regarding the loans they had to take out, “You can’t really keep up with them” (Wright, 2011). Almost a decade later Sam has trouble speaking and has to carry around an oxygen tank. This is a normal couple that got caught in the continuous cycle of payday loans. Like other millions of Americans The Black family settled for shady overpriced short-term loans.
Credit card debt is one of this nation’s leading internal problems. When credit was first introduced, and up until around the late 1970’s, the standards for getting a credit card were very high. The bar got lowered and lowered to where, eventually, an 18 year-old college student with almost no income and nothing to base a credit score on previously could obtain a credit card (much like myself). The national credit card debt for families residing in the United States alone is in the trillions (Maxed Out). The average American family has around $9,000 in debt, and pays around $1,3000 a year on interest payments (Maxed Out). Many people have the concern today that these interest rates and fees are skyrocketing; and many do not understand why. Most of these people have to try to avoid harassing collecting agents from different agencies, which takes an emotional and psychological toll on them. While a lot of the newly recognized “risky” people (those with a doubted ability to make sufficient payments) are actually older people who have been customers of certain companies for decades, the credit card companies are actually consciously targeting a different, much more vulnerable group of people: college students. James Scurlock produced a documentary called Maxed Out on this growing problem, in which Senator Jack Reed of (Democrat) of Rhode Island emphasizes the targeting of college students in the Consumer Credit Hearings of 2005
We now live in a society where kids start their adult lives “in the red”, as their debt exceeds their income. (Draut, 2005) 60 years ago this wasn’t the case, as told by Studs Terkel in Hard Times-An Oral History of The Great Depression, “I had no idea how long $30 would last, but it sure would have to go a long way because I had nothing else. The semester fee was $22, so that left me $8 to go.” (Turkel, 1970) Imagine that! 60 years ago tuition was $22 dollars a semester! Furthermore, 45% of adults under 35 state they find themselves resorting to credit card use for basic living expenses like rent, groceries and utilities, (Draut, 2005) adding to their mounting debt. This use of credit puts them into an entirely different category of indebtedness: survival debt. (Draut, 2005) Imagine being forced to borrow to live! (Draut, 2005) If a car breaks down or someone gets sick, the only option available is using a credit card. (Draut,
Lendlease is a leading international property and infrastructure group, with a business model that contains three basic components. Those three components are development, construction and investments. In development, they focus on developing communities, apartments, retail areas and social/economic infrastructure. In construction, they focus on defense, commercial, residential sectors and pharmaceutical buildings. In investing, the investment management platform also includes the Group’s ownership interest in property and infrastructure co-investments, retirement living and US military housing. Lendlease is an Australian company but has business headquarters in 4 regions of the world. These regions are Australia, Asia, Europe
Countrywide’s business tactic was “Fund ‘em”. If a person does not have a job, or any assets the answer was still “Fund ‘em”. This is a practice called subprime lending which allows loan...
With the economy going today some, if not many, businesses are going under, being liquidated, or going out of business. But how do big or small business end their enterprises? Or even allocate any resources they have to repay any debt? What procedures does a company go through to let their lenders know they have no income or sales/revenue to pay off the bills? Questions like this spark my interest to get a better understanding of how do businesses like Ashley Furniture or General Motors (GM) use their assets to attempt to pay off their creditors and any other liabilities. But what does bankruptcy mean in the business world? What are some of the paths of bankruptcy? What are the pros and cons of being bankrupt?
A guy in $50,000 of debt has got to be irresponsible with his money right? Actually, it is more likely that he is a college student. Hundreds of thousands of college students around the country are in a financial predicament because of the government?s impersonal financial aid policies. The federal government?s current system has too many quirks which end up hurting the people that financial aid is supposed to help. The federal government should change its financial aid policies to take several more factors, such as the percentage of educational expenses paid by the student, into account.
One might say there is a strong argument for the requirement of financial literacy for students in America. Americans continue to have increased balances on their credit cards as well as show a continued increase in bankruptcy filings according to statistics. Even the “baby boomer” generation is no longer exempt from financial hardships, as their generation has recently taken the title of “Fastest Growing Bankruptcy Demographic” from the 25 – 34 year olds (Linfield, 2011). Would it not make sense to say that Americans need to learn how to budget and borrow more wisely? Would not the best place to start be in schools? Well, the answer to that question is not a simple one.
The study defines “default” as a risk to the repayment history of borrowers where the borrowers have missed at least three installments in 24 months. This shows a symbol and indication of borrower behavior that will actually default to cease all repayments. This definition does not mean that the borrower had entirely stopped paying the loan and therefore been referred to collection or legal processes; or from an accounting perspective that the loan had been classified as bad or doubtful, or actually written-off (Pearson & Greeff, 2006). While, McMillion (2004) states that default is the risk where the borrower is unable to pay the loans. Default risk increases if a borrower has a large number of liabilities and poor cash flow.
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies are full of advantages and disadvantages. But at the same time they are very different. Without knowing these differences a person could lose many things from money to possessions.
The lack of knowledge plays a big part in the debt young people are getting themselves into. Credit cards are often offered to young adults as soon as they get out of high school. Many take advantage of having a credit card without even thinking about the responsibilities that come with it, instead they think about the things they will be able to buy. In “Generation Debt” the author Tamara Draut says that young people are getting into debt younger than ever before. Two of the reasons that are more costly on young students that hit hard on the budget are car repairs, and travel for students who have families and friends in other states (231). From my experience I know first-hand what it was like to be offered credit cards right out of high school, and I didn’t hesitate to get any of them. I st...