Please tell me you’re joking - debtor’s prison? I truly feel we live in a police state as it is. We definitely don’t need more prisons - how about better laws. As far as bankruptcy in general goes, and I may be the only one here that feels this way, but I’d love to see it go mainstream. I pay my bills, and always have. I’ve been out of work for long periods of time as well, and not once did I apply for welfare, food stamps, etc. Not that I couldn’t use it, I just have a little more pride than that, and I absolutely don’t feel it’s the government’s job to take care of my ass. But I will say this, I’ve lived in the New Orleans area all my life, and have been struggling harder than ever since Katrina. The work I’ve done since college has dried up, and I now work two jobs and take home two-thirds less pay. I am now seriously considering bankruptcy myself. I lost everything I owned and had 5 feet of water in my home. I’ve had nothing but trouble with Standard Mortgage since the storm. I was originally told not to worry, missed payments and lost time will just be added on to the end of my mortgage - no problems. As soon as they were able to work with me (a year and a half after the storm) I was told that I had to pay everthing that was past due back within the next year, or my house was going to auction, and they put me into foreclosure. A week before the auction they really worked out a deal for me. Now my montly payment has tripled, and I can’t afford it. All this for a house with no kitchen, no A/C, nothing is finished, etc. Yeah, sounds like a high crime...can’t believe they haven’t locked my ass up yet.
I think the original intent of bankruptcy protection was for cases such as yours. A natural disaster harmed you. You’ve tried your best to deal with it on your own, but there comes a point where it is virtually impossible for someone to recover, even if they spend a lifetime trying to pay back their debts.
What I dislike are those who want everything NOW and then expect me to pay for it. That’s stealing. Like I wrote earlier, it’s immoral to expect other people to pay your debts.
It is NOT immoral to receive help from people who are willing to lend a hand, as in charity. Nor do I think it’s wrong to declare bankruptcy if you behaved responsibly but were financially ruined (with no reasonable ability to recover) through a quirk of fate. However, I would much prefer for hard-luck cases to be handled by private charity rather than government.
If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of work do you do?
What if you were to walk away from your house? The mortgage company would foreclose, but then you would be free to seek employment elsewhere. If you don’t have a lot of equity in it, it might be worth considering.
A foreclosure would look bad on your credit report, but not quite as bad as a bankruptcy. And you wouldn’t have to subject yourself to living under terms of a federal court order.
(This is not advice! Just some thoughts...)