Published Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 4:13 pm

You’ve read the headlines. You’ve heard the network commentators. Despite the reported recent economic recovery, post-recessionary American is marked by a new, and troubling, era of economic inequality.

One of the major reasons for the widening gaps between rich and poor is that minimum wage remains at $7.25, the same rate as it was in 2009, despite dramatic rises in the cost of living.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 7:36 am

“This matter is serious and will cause problems at the job.”

Believe it or not this is exactly what collection representatives from California-based debt collection company, Rincon Debt Management, were asked to tell unassuming Americans each time they attempted to collect on back debts.

But based on a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, often the debtor they were trying to pressure didn’t owe any money at all.…

Read more

Published Sunday, January 22, 2012 @ 9:08 am

The best holiday gift may have been a private sector hiring surge in December 2011, as employers gifted the American job market with 325,000 new workers. At the same time as a the rise in public sector jobs, claims for unemployment benefits fell, raising high hopes that recent labor market woes are over and a new year may mark a new era in employment optimism.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 6:30 pm

We talk a lot about the dangers of using credit cards, the nation’s plastic pariah that contributes to many living beyond their means, causes people to pay incredibly high interest, and in more cases than we care to share, leads a lot of folks to file for bankruptcy.

And so for the many thousands of you who were hoping to pay off credit cards quickly and easily as your New Year’s resolution, we have some bad news.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

In a classic case of what goes up, must come down, the world’s forth largest airline is now seeking the safe havens of bankruptcy so that it might once again be “something special in the air.”

According to Reuters, American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week “to cut labor costs in the face of high fuel prices and dampened travel demand, capping a prolonged descent for what was once the largest U.S.…

Read more

Published Monday, November 28, 2011 @ 7:11 pm

Or, at least that’s what older workers believe.

According to a new survey from AARP, older workers say economy worse than last year. Nearly two thirds of workers in the 50+ age group first surveyed by AARP’s Public Policy Institute in 2010 said things had gotten worse by the time the senior lobbying powerhouse followed up in August.…

Read more

Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 8:16 am

With news this month that almost 40 percent of Americans belive unemployment is the biggest issue facing the country—a figure that leapt from 29 percent between August and September 2011—it’s clear that folks are beginning to believe that joblessness more than “the economy” as a whole is the nation’s most important problem as well as a primary concern for them as part of a larger pool of citizens just struggling to get by in post-recessionary America.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, October 5, 2011 @ 3:53 pm

You might think when city officials need to cut personnel costs, they start by letting public employees go.  But according to a new article from The Huffington Post, “firing people isn’t the first thing they look to do: it’s the third.” Ranking the reduction methods, HuffPost evaluates the eight top ways that city officials are dealing with budgetary woes—according to the National League of Cities—including:

(8) Reduce Pension Benefits
A full 18% of cities facing increasingly thin budgets cut back on pension benefits to shore up spending costs in 2011.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, October 5, 2011 @ 7:51 am

In what is becoming a “developing” story, financial news outlet Bloomberg is reporting that Eastman Kodak Company is currently weighing the benefits of a bankruptcy filing. The 131-year-old U.S. camera company recently hired law firm Jones Day for restructuring advice, the Wall Street Journal reported. Long known for its wide range of photographic film products, Kodak had recently tried to turnaround years of dramatic declines by refocusing on the major markets of digital photography, digital printing and its planned sale of 1,100 digital imaging patents, which the company said accounted for about 10 percent of its total patent portfolio.…

Read more

Published Sunday, September 25, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

Last week, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said it would cut about=a35,000 jobs and reduce annual expenses by $5 billion, as it struggles with costs from its 2008 takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp and a nearly 50 percent drop in share price this year.

The layoffs could have huge ripple effects for the North Carolina economy.…

Read more

Published Monday, September 19, 2011 @ 10:00 am

President Barack Obama, who submitted his American Jobs Act to Congress earlier this week—including bills that aim to use a combination of spending and tax cuts to spur job growth—seems to be on the pulse of a larger political issue.

Though the unemployment rate has been high for months, it’s never been more clear that joblessness is the primary concern for nearly a majority of average American voters.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 1:21 pm

When President Obama released his eagerly anticipated $45 billion jobs plan last week, many economists were quick to criticize the efficacy of the strategy’s payroll tax cuts.

But many small business owners across the country are praising the plan, saying that these exact incentives would allow them to immediately hire a number of workers they’ve been needing for months, if not years, but formerly had no way of subsidizing.…

Read more

Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 5:05 pm

If you’re unemployed you have a ton to worry about.

Past due bills, mounting debts, going without health insurance, possible repossession of your car or foreclosure of your home, are just some of the not-so-pleasant thoughts plaguing the millions of average Americans facing extended joblessness.

Unfortunately, now there’s one more concern to add to the job market meltdown mix: a new report by the National Employment Law Project has found that employers are continuing to discriminate against unemployed people in their online job ads despite increased scrutiny surrounding the nation’s hiring practices.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 7:52 am

Are you buying forecasts of an economic recovery? Don’t believe another global recession is possible? Just ask Michael Spence, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics. Recently, Professor Spence told Bloomberg Television Wednesday that there’s “probably a 50 percent” chance of the global economy slipping into recession.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 5:49 pm

As Hurricane Irene slammed into the East Coast, leaving in its wake wind-torn cities and towns, flooded roadways, and hundreds of thousands without power, the late-summer storm also took a lesser-reported economic toll on many geographic areas already devastated by the lingering financial crisis.

In fact, more than 400,000 homes as well as businesses lost power Saturday as Hurricane Irene hit the Carolinas with these significant losses most heavily concentrated in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, where Progress Energy reported well over 250,000 customers without power.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

At a time when a full-fledged recovery remains a distant prospect for many average Americans and their beleaguered budgets, the outlook is also pretty grim for the overall American economy itself.

As millions of men and women flood unemployment lines awaiting word of jobs that may never return, and with few signs that the federal government nor the nation’s central bank will make any further efforts to stimulate our flagging financial state, according to government estimates released Friday, the United States economy grew at a slower pace this spring than even previously thought.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 9:20 am

Some are calling a recent drop in consumer bankruptcies during the first half of 2011 a sure sign that the tides may finally be turning for the U.S. economy, as these new figures from the American Bankruptcy Institute Americans fuel the idea that American may be more financially stable in 2011 than they were at the same time last year.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 6:20 am

U.S. Credit Downgrade Ramps Up Fears of Another Recession

Standard and Poor’s recent downgrade of U.S. government debt is capturing headlines across the country and around the world. And with the major agency’s actions to cut the United States government’s top credit rating, financial experts and commentators are finding themselves increasingly concerned that the American economy is headed back into another economic downturn.…

Read more

Published Friday, August 12, 2011 @ 9:11 am

As active duty service members come home from wars winding down abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are welcomed to friends, family and staggering unemployment. Now, tens of thousands of veterans are flooding the job market at a time when millions of civilians can’t even head back to work.

According to a new report from Reuters, unemployment among recent veterans grew to 13.3 percent in June, more than 4 percentage points higher than the national average.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 8:56 am

Are you buying forecasts that we’re in a slow-but-steady economic recovery?

Well some believe the economic recovery never actually happened.

Just ask Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. On the heels of the recent debt ceiling crisis, 600-point plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average and the drop in interest rates to near-record lows, Krugman warns that the United States economy was never truly ‘on the road to recovery.’

As Krugman writes in this week’s New York Times, “It’s not just that the threat of a double-dip recession has become very real.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 8, 2011 @ 6:11 pm

In this new “rough and tumble” economic era, 117,000 sounds like a lot.

$117,000 dollars. 117,000 shares of stock. 117,000 jobs?

Well, in all but one of those cases, you’d be right. In July, the American economy beat expectations by adding 117,000 new jobs to the current market and dropping the unemployment rate from 9.2 to 9.1%.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

Just when the financial experts said it was safe to call the economy “in recovery,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says many Americans will face hard times for a long time to come.

Geithner reemphasized in an episode of “Meet the Press” that we remain in the midst of a very tough economy in which, for a lot of people, “it’s going to feel very hard, harder than anything they’ve experienced in their lifetime now, for a long time to come.” He also revealed that he believed  President Barack Obama has rescued the United States from a second Great Depression and will continue the hard work of trying to strengthen the economy.  Unfortunately, Geithner also predicted that it would be some time before many people actually feel like the country is recovering.…

Read more

Published Monday, July 25, 2011 @ 11:28 am

Local Businessman Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (And You Can Too)

A North Carolina businessman recently filed sought the safe havens of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being hit with two civil complaints in the past year, based on a recent story by the Johnston County’s The Herald. According to the paper, “The Dueas filed for bankruptcy protection on April 29 – about two weeks after a Smithfield cardiologist sued Jody Duea.…

Read more

Published Friday, July 15, 2011 @ 11:14 am

According to last week’s Federal Reserve report, U.S. consumer credit rose by another $5.08 billion in May–a figure that suggested a willingness for millions to keep borrowing despite an exceptionally tight job market.

In a recap of these new figures by Reuters, the news agency said, “The May rise, coming after a revised $5.67 billion increase in April, handily topped forecasts by Wall Street economists for a $4 billion increase and marked the eighth straight month of growth in consumer credit.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

It’s been two years since experts signaled the end of our recent Great Recession. But based on the most recent job report, it seems like only yesterday. In fact, according to last week’s surprisingly dismal government labor figures for June, a true recovery from the economic downturn of the late 2000s could be a long way off indeed.…

Read more

Published Sunday, June 26, 2011 @ 2:09 pm

It seems like only yesterday that being termed “one in a million” was a good thing.

But that was apparently before the economic crisis.

Today, there are over one million Americans (1.4 million to be exact) who have been out of work for 99 weeks or longer. Deemed as the “very long-term unemployed,” this overflowing group of unfortunate unemployed workers tends to skew more mature, with little discrimination between those with (or without) a college education.…

Read more

Published Saturday, June 18, 2011 @ 8:21 am

It’s no secret that a big reason for our country’s lingering financial malaise is the real estate market’s seemingly unending mortgage crisis—forcing many Americans out of house and home while also contributing to a bleak economic environment for home purchases, investment and spending.

But along with the knowledge that the mortgage servicing industry foreclosed on more than one million homes last year and is on track to do better in 2011, comes more bad news for the beleaguered economy: high unemployment is now further dragging down the housing market and subsequent prospects for our country’s economic recovery.…

Read more

Published Friday, June 17, 2011 @ 7:50 am

Summer is typically the time when gas prices jump, making seasonal vacations, travel and even the daily commute a bit more challenging as temps heat up. But political unrest in the Middle East fueling global insecurity about oil availability, means normally high gas prices could go even higher, leaving even less money for basic needs (and many families squeezed) during these hazy days of summer.…

Read more

Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 2:33 pm

Think high unemployment concerns have passed? Well, according to the Labor Department, these concerns are just as pressing as ever, with a paltry number of jobs added in May to keep up with the growing demand of an expanding labor force.

As Reuters is reporting, “Employment rose far less than expected in May to record its weakest reading since September, while the jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent as high energy prices and the effects of Japan’s earthquake bogged down the economy.…

Read more

Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:57 pm

Are You Prepared for an American Recession Turned Great Depression?

Just as many Americans had begun to believe the worst of the economic downturn had passed, some experts are saying that the nation’s reemerging job woes are signs of something more sinister afoot: a potential Great Depression.

So what could cause America’s Recession to turn into a Great Depression?…

Read more

Published Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 5:50 pm

Unrest in the Middle East has pushed gas prices sky high for the rest of us in recent months, with average American households, just beginning to recover from the recent economic recession, scrambling to fill their tanks with petrol pushing $3.60 (and higher) per gallon.

So, apart from adjusting tire pressure, turning off the AC and/or driving slower, you might be wondering how to reduce the financial pain you’re likely experiencing at the pump.…

Read more

Published Friday, June 3, 2011 @ 2:52 pm

Just released unemployment numbers in North Carolina are showing some promising signs of post-recessionary economic improvement. Unemployment officially dropped in 93 of 100 North Carolina counties from last month’s figures.The state’s adjusted unemployment rate is at 10.1%, with 36 counties at that level and the number of workers who found jobs in February up by16,500.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, June 1, 2011 @ 2:49 pm

Tens of thousands of jobless North Carolinians are wondering when the stalemate will end between a Republican-led state legislature and the Democratic governor—both wanting to pass a state budget, but with little to agree on other than that.

According to a new article from Arthur Delaney, entitled “North Carolina Unemployment Standoff Drags Endlessly,” a reporter who has been watching the now more-than-a month-long budget boondoggle play out in front of both local and national media outlets, the disagreements between the legislative and executive branches is unchanged this week despite attempts at concessions on both sides.…

Read more

Published Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 9:21 am

@font-face { font-family: “Times”; }@font-face { font-family: “ＭＳ 明朝”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria Math”; }@font-face { font-family: “Georgia”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in It’s that time of year again: baseball season. The smell of freshly-cut grass, the crack of the bat, the seventh inning stretches to the sound of the organ and the smell of a hot dog.…

Read more

Published Friday, May 27, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans working for state and local governments or other agencies, you may be one of the many wondering why so many so-called “financial experts” are saying the economic recovery is all around us. For you, it likely feels like the same old lingering economic malaise—especially as news emerges that your job may be on the chopping block in 2011, with even more cuts slated for 2012.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, May 25, 2011 @ 5:50 am

Arts and cultural organizations are not immune to the economic impacts of the recent Great Recession. Falling attendance and rising costs of real estate, overhead and administration marked the decline of many museums, galleries and theatrical venues in recent years.

This same scenario appeared to be problem for the Philadelphia Orchestra, long considered one of the best in the country.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, May 24, 2011 @ 3:48 pm

For those of you who live in North Carolina, does this story sound familiar?

Charlotte’s John Allison, 37, told HuffPost the [political] stalemate [over jobless benefits] reminds him of a game of chicken, except “the person controlling the car’s not even in it.” “It’s a remote control game of chicken and I’m tied in the seat,” he said.…

Read more

Published Saturday, May 21, 2011 @ 7:48 am

It’s that time of year again: baseball season. The smell of freshly-cut grass, the crack of the bat, the seventh inning stretches to the sound of the organ and the smell of a hot dog.

It’s also time for another great bankruptcy metaphor.

A personal bankruptcy can be just like a baseball game.…

Read more

Published Monday, May 16, 2011 @ 1:44 pm

While the country’s overall unemployment rate sits at 8.8 percent, the rate among white Americans is at 7.9 percent. Yet, for a host of reasons ranging from disparate levels of education to outright discrimination, national joblessness is nearly double for African Americans—even during a tepid, but true, economic recovery.

As The Huffington Post points out, joblessness has remained so critically elevated in the decade leading up to the Great Recession, that African Americans like Charlotte, North Carolina’s own Wanda Nolan witnessed a bright future quickly dimmed by an unrelenting  economic downturn:

“From an entry-level job as a fill-in bank teller, she forged a career as a commercial banking assistant, earning enough to become a homeowner.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, May 4, 2011 @ 4:27 am

After political unrest in the Middle East fueled global insecurity about oil availability, Americans shuttered (and sputtered) as gas prices rose above $3.70 per gallon. Now, experts are saying that we’re in for another “crude awakening” as the price of oil is poised to push $100 a barrel after a global economic rebound sent it surging 34 percent in the past year.  This surge could send fuel prices soaring to $4 a gallon by summer in some parts of the country.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, May 3, 2011 @ 9:29 am

As we’ve been reporting, thousands of North Carolinians were on course to lose their unemployment benefits as North Carolina lawmakers failed to revise the calculations used to determine when these payouts from the Extended Benefits program could be distributed. These same benefits were then placed in limbo when the Governor vetoed a bill in which Republican legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly attached budget cuts to the state’s eligibility for these federal benefits.…

Read more

Published Thursday, April 21, 2011 @ 5:44 pm

As we reported just last week, 37,000 North Carolinians were on course to lose their unemployment benefits as North Carolina lawmakers failed to revise the calculations used to determine when these payouts from the Extended Benefits program could be distributed.

This week, however, the legislative actions were more purposeful as Republican legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly attached budget cuts to a bill maintaining the state’s eligibility for these federal benefits.…

Read more

Published Thursday, April 21, 2011 @ 4:37 pm

Apparently the lingering economic malaise has its limits: according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 216,000 new jobs last month. This good news appears to support recent claims that the labor market recovery, as Bloomberg put it, is finally “gaining traction”.

But according to a new report from The Huffington Post, those who have been lucky enough to find work, any work, are also often finding their former standard of living to be completely out of reach.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, April 12, 2011 @ 7:34 am

Just this month it was announced that about 37,000 North Carolinians would suddenly lose their unemployment benefits. This news emerged as at least eight other states avoided a similar fate by changing the calculations used to determine when these benefits could be distributed.

But according to Bloomberg Businessweek, the same revisions weren’t considered in the Tar Heel State.…

Read more

Published Sunday, April 10, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

Not that long ago, green industries like ethanol producers were on par to make a ton of greenbacks, capitalizing on the needs of a public clamoring for cleaner and less costly alternatives to fossil fuels and rising gasoline prizes. But fast forward to 2011, a time when corn prices have more than doubled while ethanol prices refused to keep pace proportionally with these rises in corn prices.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011 @ 7:12 am

It may seem strange, the whole prospect of turning a timely tax return into a bankruptcy, but in a nation currently dealing with a healthy debt load, the whole idea that half of Americans get some form or return, comes at a good time for those looking to pay down those debts, or, better yet, find a longer-term solution for their cash-strapped situation.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, March 22, 2011 @ 7:28 am

In this additional online accompaniment to the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt website, we strive to cover much of the latest bankruptcy news as well as offer an insider’s guide of the ins and outs of the bankruptcy process. This includes a wealth of pre-bankruptcy considerations, a look at the intricacies of a bankruptcy filing, and sure-fire post-bankruptcy steps to get you back on the road to more financially-rewarding future.…

Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2011 @ 6:08 am

To commemorate the Federal Trade Commission’s annual National Consumer Protection Week (March 6 – 12, 2011), the FTC is providing a budget-load of handy-dandy information designed to protect your money, your credit, and your overall post-recessionary financial future. So whether you’re rebuilding your economic life post-bankruptcy, or simply trying to speed up your savings, the NCPW blog can yield a wealth of resources exactly at a time when average Americans need a financial infusion, including information about:

• Avoiding foreclosure rescue and other mortgage-related scams;
• Knowing how to spot employment opportunity scams;
• Making the most of your money in the early stages of your career;
• Building and maintaining a budget to improve financial stability;
• Avoiding time-share and credit-card scams offered via text messages; and
• Learning what steps to take to save your home from foreclosure.

…

Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2011 @ 6:00 am

To commemorate the Federal Trade Commission’s annual National Consumer Protection Week (March 6 – 12, 2011), the FTC is providing a budget-load of handy-dandy information designed to protect your money, your credit, and your overall post-recessionary financial future. So whether you’re rebuilding your economic life post-bankruptcy, or simply trying to speed up your savings, the NCPW blog can yield a wealth of resources exactly at a time when average Americans need a financial infusion, including information about:

• Avoiding foreclosure rescue and other mortgage-related scams;
• Knowing how to spot employment opportunity scams;
• Making the most of your money in the early stages of your career;
• Building and maintaining a budget to improve financial stability;
• Avoiding time-share and credit-card scams offered via text messages; and
• Learning what steps to take to save your home from foreclosure.

…

Read more

Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011 @ 12:37 pm

With the resurgence of the nation’s rabid appetite for news and information, the emergence of online shopping, and the advent of e-readers, with their promise of any book, any time, anywhere, as well as cheaper pricing, shoppers are now abandoning bookstores like Borders and Barnes & Nobles as they did music stores more than 10 years ago.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011 @ 9:03 am

With its many Armed Forces outposts, bases and camps, North Carolina is among a select group of states that are home to a storied U.S. military tradition as well as large military and veteran populations. As such, citizens of North Carolina and other states are often familiar not only with the duties and honorable service of these military men and women, but are also aware of the many laws passed to give veterans preferred status as a token for their former and continuing sacrifice.…

Read more

Published Saturday, March 12, 2011 @ 7:00 am

The tumultuous political climate in the Middle East has pushed domestic gas prices sky high in recent weeks, with average American households, just beginning to recover from the recent economic collapse, scrambling to fill their tanks with petrol pushing (on average) $3.50 per gallon.

And according to The Huffington Post, the problems at the pump may just be beginning.…

Read more

Published Friday, March 11, 2011 @ 10:51 am

Continuing unrest in major oil-producing pockets of the Middle East—including recent changes in Egypt’s leadership and the current chaos in Libya—is adding fuel to the rumors that rising gas prices could take us into another economic downturn.

Yes, you read that correctly.

According to a new report from The Huffington Post, “Yet another group of analysts have issued grim warnings about the recent run-up in oil prices.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, February 15, 2011 @ 8:40 pm

The publishing industry is undergoing some pretty dramatic changes in recent years, with many of these changes reflected in brick and mortar bookseller bankruptcies. And Borders Group Inc. (BGP) is likely the most recent victim of the increasing movement towards e-books and digital media.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based national chain which made its major imprint with physical shelf-space for literary best-sellers and popular music CDs, is set to file for bankruptcy this week.…

Read more

Published Monday, February 7, 2011 @ 7:18 pm

With all of the 2011 headlines touting a strengthening American economy and falling unemployment, many are wondering how either can actually be true in light of a recent Bureau of Labor statistics report. The Labor stats found that while the unemployment rate fell to 9% in January 2011, the country only added a paltry 36,000 jobs last year.…

Read more

Published Monday, January 31, 2011 @ 9:28 am

Maybe you feel you’ve avoided financial calamity during the major years of the American economic meltdown: You’ve managed to avoid foreclosure and credit card debt, stave off a major medical injury or illness, without cutting into savings or retirement plans. You’ve possibly even avoided being fired or laid off from your job.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, January 25, 2011 @ 8:22 am

Amid a 2010 marred by some of the highest foreclosure rates ever recorded, came the news that many of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders had been forced to suspend foreclosure proceedings following charges that these same “mega mortgage-holders” rushed the recordation process by forcing thousands of borrowers from their “home sweet homes” without the appropriate documentation to do so.…

Read more

Published Saturday, January 22, 2011 @ 7:24 am

In 2010, the Obama administration reworked its $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program (AKA “HAMP”) in an attempt to better help those hardest hit by the housing crisis: homeowners who were unemployed or underwater in their mortgages (i.e., owing more on their loans than their homes are worth). Within these changes, (1) the unemployed could qualify for up to a six month stay on their mortgage payments;  (2) in turn, participating banks would receive financial incentives to reduce mortgage balances for underwater homeowners; and (3) lenders could refinance mortgage loans secured by the Federal Housing Administration.…

Read more

Published Friday, January 14, 2011 @ 1:52 pm

The Supreme Court’s recent holding in the bankruptcy case of Ransom v. FIA Card Services, N.A., means new challenges regarding allowed expenses for Chapter 13 debtors.  In an eight to one opinion, the Court recently affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that a debtor may not deduct “vehicle ownership” costs when computing his Chapter 13 plan payment if that debtor happens to own his vehicle “free and clear.”

In layman’s terms, this means that a person filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 cannot reduce his payments to unsecured creditors by claiming “ownership costs” for a car on which he owes no money.  In this case, the petitioner, Jason Ransom, filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and claimed a $471 monthly expense in his Chapter 13 payment plan for automobile ownership costs.…

Read more

Published Thursday, January 13, 2011 @ 3:56 pm

Business insiders and industry experts are all aflutter after last week’s US Bancorp v. Ibanez decision in which Massachusetts’ highest court found that Wells Fargo and US Bancorp had no right to seize the homes of two delinquent borrowers since neither financial institution could prove they legally owned the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.…

Read more

Published Thursday, January 13, 2011 @ 7:21 am

Following three months of positive growth in what had been an extended period of recession-era unemployment numbers, business hiring slowed in the latter part of 2010, causing national unemployment figures rose to a staggering 9.8%. But North Carolina experts say our state appears to be bucking the proverbial trend with signs of slow economic improvements signaling signs of hope in the local job market.…

Read more

Published Monday, January 3, 2011 @ 8:51 am

Despite an apparent uptick in consumer confidence this during the latter part of 2010, no one is buying the idea that the housing market—a major cause for this decade’s economic meltdown—is getting better anytime soon. In fact, according to U.S. Bank regulators, the country’s home foreclosures actually spiked in the third quarter as banks and other mortgage lenders became less inclined to help Americans stay in their homes as the housing market continues to struggle.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, November 30, 2010 @ 5:26 pm

In every great relationship, transparency is essential. And a perfect match is often a partner willing to share their past relationships, their financial status as well as what they’re thinking. Similarly, in every fruitful bankruptcy, honesty is key. In fact, it is mandatory. So, if you’re bankruptcy bound, it’s always best to understand early on that, at the outset of your filing, you must act in good faith, revealing all salient points with both your bankruptcy attorney—the person or persons who represent you in your case—as well as your bankruptcy trustee—the person who administrates your case.…

Read more

Published Monday, November 15, 2010 @ 10:13 am

While some experts are calling the latter portions of 2010 a new era of economic recovery, bankruptcy filings remain in true recession-era form.  In fact, according to the 2010 Fiscal Year statistics from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the number of bankruptcies filed between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010 increased from 1,402,816 to 1,596,355, marking an increase of 13.8%.…

Read more

Published Friday, November 12, 2010 @ 10:36 am

As has been well reported, mortgage modifications in the current housing market remain hard to come by. But what is less well known is that even for many lucky enough to modify their current house payments, the financial future is far from safely sheltered.  According to a recent report, more than 50 percent of homeowners who received mortgage modifications were at least two mortgage payments behind within a single year’s time, yet again making them vulnerable to perils of foreclosure.  The report also showed that approximately one-third of homeowners who received mortgage modifications that reduced their monthly payments by 20 percent or more had fallen behind again within a year compared to 60 percent for borrowers whose loan payments were left unchanged or increased.…

Read more

Published Saturday, November 6, 2010 @ 7:30 am

Amid the lingering housing crisis, full of fraudulent foreclosures and missed mortgage modifications, many disenfranchised Americans have turned to renting to keep a roof over their heads, and their heads above financial water.  Yet, even in a period where renting can be financially friendlier than owning,  conscientious and reasonable renters continue to face this tough economy head-on…in the form of foreclosure notices?…

Read more

Published Friday, November 5, 2010 @ 6:28 pm

In these tough economic times, it has been well-reported that many jobless Americans are turning to their own devices in order to makes ends meet. But, even self-employed self-starters sometimes need to turn to bankruptcy solutions as a way to get out from under mounting debts.

In part one of the series, “Making Bankruptcy Work for the Self-Employed,” we introduced the basics of what savvy entrepreneurs need to know when pursuing the debt dissolution solutions that bankruptcy provides, including providing proof of income and tax returns, and monitoring major income fluctuations.  In part two, we share even more tips of the trade so that self-employed individuals who fall on hard times at any point in the business-building process can also take their financial future into their hands through bankruptcy.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, November 2, 2010 @ 8:42 am

As the economic meltdown lingers, layoffs continue and jobs remain hard to come by, many skilled and experienced Americans are turning to entrepreneurship to make ends meet. But, while it is a good time to take your financial future into your own hands in business, it is also important to understand that self-employed individuals who fall on hard times at any point in the business-building process can also take their financial future into their hands through bankruptcy.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:18 pm

The majority of jobless people, laid off during the recent economic downturn, face a multitude of harsh realities: loss of medical insurance, falling behind on mortgages, ruined credit, and, in the wake of years full of economic prosperity, little to no established support system to help them deal with these recent tough times and keep them from succumbing to the new realities of our Great Recession.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

While many of us were reading the Sunday paper, sitting in our various places of worship or otherwise relaxing and enjoying the weekend, Austan Goolsbee, Obama’s chief economic adviser, was telling Christiane Amanpour of ABC’s “This Week” that unemployment in the United States is “going to stay high.”

“This recession is the deepest in our lifetimes, the deepest since 1929,” said Goolsbee, who was just appointed chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:10 pm

Are you one of an estimated 26 million Americans who avoid bank accounts altogether because you fear banking excessive fees or are currently suffering from the very high fees others are trying to avoid? As a result, do you depend on expensive check cashing or tax refund loan services? Well, there’s suddenly hope out there for the unbanked or underbanked—especially during tax season

The U.S.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:06 pm

If you’re reading this, odds are you might be suffering through a pretty tough financial time. What may make you feel a bit better about your current economic situation is the firm knowledge that you’re not alone in this global economic meltdown. Specifically, millions of average Americans just like you are facing a shared financial burden as we all struggle to stay afloat in the wake of this country’s recent Great Recession—full of folks facing insurmountable health care costs, foreclosure, job insecurity and losses, and, in some cases, complete and total insolvency.…

Read more

Published Saturday, September 11, 2010 @ 6:30 pm

If, when examining your credit card debts, mortgages payments or other loans, you find you are in arrears, but also have regular income to catch up with those back payments (just not all at one time), you may find that Chapter 13 bankruptcy is your best first step in protecting your biggest assets and income.…

Read more

Published Saturday, September 11, 2010 @ 9:18 am

In most discussions of bankruptcy, there are few mentions of the rising costs of motherhood/parenthood, especially considering the current economic state of affairs, whereby families are sometimes forced to choose between clothing, feeding and educating a child and their responsibilities of paying mortgages, car notes and consumer debt.

 As a result, it’s as good a time as any during this especially tough economic era to take a closer look at how mothers, guardians, and caregivers are crunching the numbers when it comes to giving their child the very best, and what that means when, at the same time, that parent is forced to seek the protections of a personal bankruptcy. For example, what might spending for a school expenditures and activities and/or a college education mean when it comes time to file and face bankruptcy’s two basic evaluations?…

Read more

Published Friday, September 10, 2010 @ 10:26 pm

You may have been waiting and hoping and wishing and praying that things will soon get back to normal. Maybe you’ve lost your job. Maybe you’re close to losing your home. Maybe you’re even thinking you may lose it all. But you don’t file for bankruptcy. You wait, hope, and believe that economic times can’t be tough forever; and that you can make it through without the help of a bankruptcy lawyer.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 2:25 pm

Regardless of your current financial situation—from good credit to no credit—there’s no denying that we’re living in a tough housing market. So if you’re considering bankruptcy, you might think that if it’s a challenge to become a homeowner for those in the best financial times, it might be next to impossible to acquire your dream home if you’re currently recovering from a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy filing.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 2:23 pm

Think the economic downturn is now only a temporary concern? Well, according to an authority on the history of financial crises—Carmen M. Reinhart, an economist at the University of Maryland—this country’s economy could suffer from super-slow growth and staggering unemployment for a full decade or more. This seemingly unending economic malaise remains a direct result of the collapse of the housing market and the economic turmoil that began some three years ago.…

Read more

Published Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 2:20 pm

In previous posts we’ve mentioned the findings of Third World America, Arianna Huffington’s new book taking an up-close-and-person and personal look at those hardest hit by the ongoing economic crisis: individuals, families and even whole communities.

In the process of capturing this unwelcome slice of American life, Huffington’s own news and information website The Huffington Post has “mapped the areas hardest hit by home foreclosure, unemployment and bankruptcy this year.”

To give you an idea of the depth and scope of the damage done by the financial meltdown, here’s an overview of how hard people are being in hit throughout a state like North Carolina.…

Read more

Published Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 8:21 am

In the annals of bankruptcy law, special rules have come to dictate how certain property—from homes to cars to household items—is categorized and dispensed post-filing. Specifically, most states have some sort of homestead exemption that protects some or all of the equity in the debtor’s home from the clutches of creditor claims.  The Bankruptcy Code provides debtors with a homestead exemption—an exemption that is doubled for joint owners.…

Read more

Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:54 am

So, like a very large number of Americans today, you think bankruptcy is your best route out of the financial doldrums.  After all the credit counselors, self-help books and Craigslist charlatans, it’s likely that you’ve grown tired of the debt cycle. We understand. That is what brings a lot of clients to our offices.…

Read more

Published Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 9:27 am

Debtors attempting to avoid bankruptcy by waiting for housing prices (and equity) to increase may be waiting a long time. In fact, according to The New York Times, wealth-building via housing booms may have also gone the way of guaranteed pensions, free healthcare, and secure employment.

Per the NYT, “many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century, when houses not only provided shelter but also a plump nest egg.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, August 17, 2010 @ 7:43 pm

Just as Social Security seems to be running into the red—paying out more dollars than it’s taking in—it also appears the social welfare program has never been more important.  In its 75^th year, amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Recession, Social Security is acting as a financial lifeline to America’s most needy citizens.  And without it, the consequences would be dire.…

Read more

Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 2:06 pm

In this underwater housing market, the old adage that renting a home is the same as throwing your money away can be grossly inaccurate. In many cities, from San Francisco to Dallas to New York, “price to rent” ratios make leasing property a no-brainer. But now, even smaller cities like Omaha, Oklahoma City and Kansas City appear on top ten lists of places better to rent than own.…

Read more

Published Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:06 am

As Baby Boomers age into their rightful place at the retirement table, Social Security appears to be running into the red—literally paying out more dollars than it’s taking in—even after decades of prosperity and pay-outs.

According to a recent article in CNNMoney.com, this could leave many who do (and will) depend on Social Security in a rough economic spot during already tough financial times.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, August 10, 2010 @ 9:53 am

In the wake of the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, millions of people are finding themselves bankruptcy bound. And with so many people forced to find relief in the protections a bankruptcy filing can provide, gone are the days of societal stigmatization and shame.

Yet, many debtors enduring tough financial times are still stuck in an old mindset that bankruptcy is a measure of last result.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 6:52 pm

In these tough financial times, finding people with a steady job, much less a job that provides a higher income, can be difficult. As a result, it may be surprising to find a lot of these high-income debtors are currently considering bankruptcy. But in this economic downturn, many of these men and women are suffering from unexpected challenges to their steady income and business, and, as a result, joining millions of other Americans by seeking the safe harbors of bankruptcy to protect what they’ve worked for.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 8:08 am

Many see bankruptcy as a lonely journey into a new financial frontier; but in reality there are many people available to walk you down your new path to fiscal freedom, including family, friends, your trusted bankruptcy attorney, and, finally, the bankruptcy trustee.

Your bankruptcy trustee not only administrates your bankruptcy case, she is also the means to your bankruptcy end—the lynchpin to a fresh new start that only bankruptcy can provide.…

Read more

Published Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 2:58 pm

More bad news for those facing tough financial times: mortgage foreclosures are likely to top the one million mark in 2010. As The Associated Press reported in the last week, “Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service.”

By comparison, according to RealtyTrac, in an average year the United States only sees about 100,000 homes in foreclosure.…

Read more

Published Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 7:25 am

In order to assist the millions of jobless Americans during our recent “Great Recession,” Congress used stimulus funding to buttress Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs (or TANF) in states across the country aimed at assisting them to provide work for people with children. Unfortunately, if you or someone you know has been helped by the TANF Emergency Fund, not unlike the hundreds of thousands of other families across the country, your support is about to run out.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 10:10 am

Are you buying forecasts of an economic recovery? Don’t believe a “Third Depression” is possible? Just ask Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. On the heels of the G-20 meeting in Toronto, where world leaders pledged to cut their country’s deficits in half by 2013, Krugman warned that worldwide austerity will curb the necessary stimulus needed to encourage economies and deter another downturn.…

Read more

Published Wednesday, July 14, 2010 @ 2:54 pm

Everywhere you look it seems there are people affected by Congress’s failure to authorize and extend unemployment benefits to jobless Americans. And everywhere you turn there are reports of politicians accusing laid-off laborers of resting on their laurels and depending on these federal same governmental subsidies instead of following through with their job searches.…

Read more

Published Saturday, July 3, 2010 @ 5:29 pm

If you’re considering bankruptcy, you may be wondering about the nuts and bolts of the bankruptcy process. One part of this process is the 341 meeting.  After filing your Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are REQUIRED to attend a meeting of your creditors, otherwise known as a “341 meeting.” Named for section 341 of the bankruptcy code that mandates a meeting between a bankruptcy bound debtor and creditors, it normally occurs three to six weeks after your bankruptcy filing.…

Read more

Published Thursday, July 1, 2010 @ 10:09 am

A typical tax time stressor is the idea of an IRS audit, during which the IRS reviews your previous year’s tax return for discrepancies. Similarly, the IRS can do the same in the case of bankruptcy, assessing the information offered during your bankruptcy case.

While many bankruptcy bound individuals might recoil at the idea of setting themselves up for a second potential audit, it is important not to panic or consider this possible evaluation as a deterrent to heading down the road of removing or reducing your debts through bankruptcy.…

Read more

Published Thursday, June 17, 2010 @ 10:15 am

Following the last several years of the worst economic downturn in recent history, economists, commentators and financial experts have recently been heartened about prospects for economic growth and recovery this year as industries increasingly report better profits and the additions of new jobs.

Yet, as the economy emerges from the doldrums, consumers aren’t the only ones feeling hesitant.…

Read more

Published Tuesday, June 15, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

In an era of extreme economic downturns and job insecurity, having a car at your disposal has never been more necessary for work, job interviews and providing other basic fiscal needs…even as you consider a personal bankruptcy.   Fortunately, in most places a regular car, as in one single car, is usually exempt from bankruptcy to allow average Americans just like you to get to work, school and make runs for basic needs and necessary family errands.…

Read more

Published Thursday, May 27, 2010 @ 8:11 am

While many economists and financial experts are now saying that this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans who have been working diligently for a year or more to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree.

In fact, a new report has found that just one in five people who were out of work at this time last year have found meaningful employment since then.…

Read more

Published Saturday, May 8, 2010 @ 8:23 am

Sometimes, it may seem like your creditors are an ever-present part of your life…showing up where and when you least expect, or need, them. While options like bankruptcy can stop most creditors cold, in the interim, unsecured creditors, the ones at the bottom of the proverbial food chain, are more likely to be the ones contacting you via phone, sending you letters, and generally harassing you for cash, any cash, where and when they can.…

Read more

Published Saturday, April 24, 2010 @ 8:06 am

In these tough economic times, many families are facing unprecedented financial challenges. This country’s recent Great Recession has dealt, and continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of Americans—leaving millions in debt, underwater in their mortgages, perpetually jobless and looking for any means necessary to get back on a financially-healthy track.…

Read more

Published Friday, April 9, 2010 @ 7:27 am

While many economists say this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans still working hard to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree…and now, the figures do too.

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report, more than 40% of the nation’s 14.9 million unemployed workers have been out of a job for at least 27 weeks, with an average member of this beleaguered club having been unemployed for 29.7 weeks.…

Read more

Published Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 10:18 am

As we’re all aware, this decade’s Great Recession has dealt, and continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of many American families, leaving millions in debt, underwater in their mortgages, and looking for any means necessary to get back on a financially-healthy course.  Now, tax time can  yield a long-term solution for some cash-strapped citizens.…

Read more