[Southack]

"Last year 1 in 73 households filed for bankruptcy. Foreclosures are at record levels. Credit card delinquency rates are at record levels. If that sounds like prosperity to you I have a bridge to sell you."

No, the Administration Office of the U.S. Courts reports there were 1,661,996 bankruptcies filed across the nation in fiscal 2003 which covers the period from October 1, 2002- September 1, 2003.

The U.S. Census reports that the U.S. has 291 Million legal residents as of 2003.

That means that .57% of Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

In 1992, there were 971,517 personal bankruptcies with a population of 244 million...or .4%.

That same source above also reports that "Business bankruptcies actually dropped from the previous year 7.4% to 36,183."

In contrast, there were 82,446 business bankruptcy filings back in 1987.

[ARCADIA]

The U.S. Census reports that the U.S. has 291 Million legal residents as of 2003.

That means that .57% of Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

Perhaps you should consider multi-person households. I.E. that may have been 1.6 million families that filed for bankruptcy, not 1.6 million individuals.