In 2005, a law was passed that drastically reduced the ability of citizens to form fair repayment plans and discharge debt. Our bankruptcy system must be fixed to give responsible citizens a second chance.
One leader we’ve heard a lot about lately, cares deeply about this issue.
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Story
Researching to Discover the Reasons Behind Bankruptcy
When Elizabeth Warren was a young law professor, she thought, like others at the time, that people who went broke were irresponsible or wasteful. But as she began to teach, she realized no one had delved into the real factors that forced many families into bankruptcy. So she and two partners set out to gather data, flying around the country to make copies of thousands of bankruptcy filings.
The families she saw appearing in courtrooms looked a lot like the family she grew up in. They seemed to be people who had been forced to incur more and more debt and risk just to cling to their middle class existence. A triggering factor then made their payment schedules impossible to sustain. The data gathered showed:
Nearly 90% of the families were declaring bankruptcy for one of three reasons:
- a job loss
- a medical problem
- a family breakup
The Fight for Fair Bankruptcy Rules
Senator Warren then spent many years fighting the banking industry’s efforts to change the laws to enable them to squeeze everything they could from struggling families.
In spite of her efforts, and those of other elected officials, a restrictive bill was passed, thanks to 100 million dollars spent in support of the legislation by banks who realized the immense profits they would reap at the expense of families in need.
But this intelligent, determined woman has never stopped fighting unfair creditor policies. She was instrumental in the passage of the Credit CARD Act, and the formation of The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, signed into law during the Obama Administration, and is determined to re-address unfair bankruptcy practices.
Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan for the Future
The senator from Massachusetts has announced a plan to repeal the harmful provisions of the 2005 bankruptcy bill and overhaul consumer bankruptcy rules to give Americans a better chance of getting back on their feet.
The goals Senator Warren’s plan is designed to accomplish, as quoted from her website are to:
- Make it easier for people being crushed by debt to obtain relief through bankruptcy.
- Expand people’s rights to take care of themselves and their children while they are in the bankruptcy process.
- End the absurd rules that make it nearly impossible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy.
- Let more people protect their homes and cars in bankruptcy so they can start from a firm foundation when they start to pick up the pieces and rebuild their financial lives.
- Help address shameful racial and gender disparities that plague our bankruptcy system.
- Close loopholes that allow the wealthy and corporate creditors to abuse the bankruptcy system at the expense of everyone else.
Senator Warren has spent most of her career discovering why families go broke. She hopes to overhaul our bankruptcy system so it helps working families, not giant companies. Our firm also supports helping American families affected by medical, economic, and other forms of life’s misfortunes get back on their feet.
Would you like to STOP creditor phone calls, foreclosure, eliminate debt, save assets, stop wage garnishment and bank levy and get a fresh financial start? At Walker & Walker Law Offices, with four sites serving the Minneapolis, St. Paul area, we can help you get a bankruptcy agreement that preserves assets, and sets you on the path to rebuild credit.
Contact us for prompt, courteous answers to your questions about bankruptcy from our friendly, knowledgeable staff. Here are a few comments from our clients.
