Sequestration Affects New York Courts
May 16, 2013What is Sequestration? It is a U.S. legal procedure in which automatic spending cuts are triggered. UScourts.gov reports that sequestration has reduced the federal judiciary’s overall funding levels by almost $350 million, which is equivalent to a 5 percent cut. Each court decides how to implement the funding cuts. In all, approximately 2,000 employees nationwide [...]
Read MoreWhat Do Mickey Mouse and Bankruptcy Have in Common?
May 14, 2013Walt Disney. Walt Disney, the man who created Mickey Mouse, the Disney theme parks and many blockbuster movies, experienced financial ups and downs like most people, including bankruptcy, according to justdisney.com, a website that is not affiliated with The Walt Disney Company. Disney was born in 1901 and spent his childhood in Missouri with three [...]
Read MoreMedical Doctors File Bankruptcy too!
May 14, 2013Bankruptcy filings by doctors have recently increased, according to Bobby Guy, co-chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s health care committee, in money.cnn.com. Guy tracks bankruptcy trends tied to distressed businesses. The accelerated bankruptcy filings by physicians’ practices have consequences for both doctors and patients. For some doctors, it is a career-ending move, and for patients, [...]
Read MoreAn Interesting Way To Get Rid Of Debt
May 6, 2013A week before Christmas 2012, Strike Debt, an affiliate of the Occupy movement, had purchased the medical debts of 44 lucky upstate New York residents and forgiven them! Now, the same organization plans to forgive $11.5 million in medical debt owed on the secondary market by families who either live or once lived in Kentucky [...]
Read MoreWhat Do Filing for Bankruptcy and Winning the Nobel Peace Prize Have in Common?
May 2, 2013Despite his remarkable achievements, Jean Henry Dunant, who in 1901 received one of the first Nobel Peace Prizes, endured periods of ups and downs in his life, including bankruptcy, according to www.nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Prize. Dunant was a founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the initiator of [...]
Read MoreCheck Your Credit Report At No Cost!
April 24, 2013To determine whether you have a good credit score that maybe affected by bankruptcy or whether past-due bills have already affected your credit score, check your credit report. Consumers are eligible for one free credit report from the three big credit-reporting companies per year. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each [...]
Read MoreCourt Looks at Whether Town Can Protect Pensions in Bankruptcy
April 22, 2013On March 26, 2013, a trial between the City of Stockton, California, and its creditors began. The outcome will determine whether Stockton receives bankruptcy protection while leaving pensions intact and bondholders holding the losses, according to Reuters.com. Since at least the 1930s, no major city or county has forced a reduction in the principal of [...]
Read MoreNow You See It, Now You Don’t!
April 22, 2013If the balance in your bank account seems like a Houdini magic trick — a case of the disappearing funds— it is time to develop a budget. The Federal Trade Commission offers a simple approach to budgeting by evaluating how much money you are taking in and how much money you spend. This isn’t rocket [...]
Read MoreLocal Politicians Not Immune to Bankruptcy
April 17, 2013People from all walks of life file for bankruptcy. Politicians at all levels of government are no exception. The mayor of Greensboro, N.C., declared consumer bankruptcy on April 5, 2013, the Greensboro News & Record reported. Greensboro has a population of about 274,000. “It’s no secret that I have been experiencing financial difficulties resulting from [...]
Read MoreCredit Card Delinquencies at 18-Year Low
April 16, 2013The American Bankers Association announced April 2, 2013, that credit card delinquencies are at their lowest level since 1994, money.cnn.com reported. In other words, credit card users are better at paying their bills on time than they have been in almost two decades! Delinquencies on bank-issued credit cards fell below 2.5 percent in the fourth [...]
Read More
