Texas is fertile ground for bankruptcy

[SoCalDem]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2497793

April 10, 2004, 11:32PM

Texas is fertile ground for bankruptcy
By PURVA PATEL
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Three years ago Adrian Gaspar could easily supplement his $45,000 Houston police officer's salary by moonlighting as a security guard at local construction sites. At one point he made as much as $100,000.Last year the 39-year-old found himself fighting off creditors."I'm here from Romania, and I thought, 'Hey, this is the American Dream I'm living.' And then all of a sudden I was filing for bankruptcy," Gaspar said.

The economic slump that worsened following the 2001 terrorist attacks dried up new construction and left Gaspar without a second job. The Manvel resident drained his savings, sold his two extra cars and a Harley-Davidson, hawked car parts on eBay and cashed in his gun collection to pay his bills. He resorted to bankruptcy when he ran out of things to sell.

"I'll have a bad mark on my credit report for several years, but at least I can feed my family," he said. "Family comes first." Gaspar was one of 25,210 individuals who filed for personal bankruptcy last year in the U.S. Southern District of Texas, helping to make it the nation's top judicial district in terms of the percentage increase in filings. The number who filed in 2002 was 20,459.

Personal bankruptcy filings increased 5.3 percent nationwide, but they jumped 23.2 in the Southern District of Texas and 15 percent statewide. Nationally, personal bankruptcy filings edged up to 1,625,208 from 1,539,111.

snip.....

[cryofan]

1. people like the man quoted here are just abusing the system

It is tough right now, but the Romanian guy quoted here is just abusing the system. He lived at a higher level than he should have, and now he and others are paying the price. I live in Houston, too, and there are just too many people living the high life. My wife and I live in a modest condo and drive one modest little car. My wife, who is a fairly recent immigrant from Taiwan, has asked me why so many people live better than we do, with fancy new SUVs and nice homes, even I though I myself am well educated, etc. I try to explain to her how people are pushing the limit of their incomes, etc.

However, the medical bankruptcies are an entirely different case, and NOBODY should ever be forced into debt by medical costs. It is a SCANDAL that this should be happening the world's richest country.

The job market sucks here in Houston. I have been more or less out of work for a while, myself, though mainly by choice. and have been somewhat self-employed. Now that I am looking for work again, there is not much available. In fact, after sending out a dozen or so resumes/job applications, I have gotten only one bite, and that for much less than what I have made recently.

But thanks to our thrifty lifestyle, I have lots of savings, in contrast to the idiotic cop, and am planning to start law school this fall. Once I get a little experience, I plan to start my own law firm. THat seems to be the best way to make a living in America--have your own business....it appears that with the advent of outsourcing and mass corporate immigration, the days of the Great American Job and Lifestyle may be over for many.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. "Living the high life"

That is absolutely correct. My husband and I are the children of the children of the depression era and we have a totally different set of principles than the kind of people who live on our street who happen to be our age. It is a peculiar street. All the males seem to have the same Middle Age virus and it's comical to hear their motorcycles rev up each Tuesday and Thursday nights as they go off to the local Steak and Shake where all the after-office, white-males-on-motorcycles congregate in the city. I drove by the S & S once and I swear the last time I saw so much men and leather together in the same place it was at a gay disco bar in the 1980s.

Anyway, high priced motorcycles, boats and a lust for adverse possession seems to be what appeals to them. And it makes for a very unhappy community.

[Deja Q]

6. Good luck with the self employment

Many big corporations destroy the smaller ones by devaluing the industry or using their size to suffocate them. The ex-business owner now has to work for a big corporation, at a greatly reduced wage - assuming the job doesn't get oursourced, leaving the guy to work multiple retail jobs as they're the only ones being created, it seems.

Welcome to the American way of life, circa 2004.

There's a lot of SCANDAL going on, too...

Besides, when peak oil subsides, our way of life is going to change big-time.

[NNN0LHI]

3. I think Texas and South Dakota are the only two states you get to keep...

...your house when filing for bankruptcy? That may be part of the reason here too. I bet South Dakotas bankruptcy rates are higher than the national average too.

Don

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Florida also.

But a Homeowner's Association can put a lien on your house if you don't pay your dues and can legally take it even if you're bankrupt.

[SoCalDem]

7. California too.. as long as you keep up the payments

My friend is barely hanging on to hers..:(

[shanti]

8. you can keep your home in california too

nuff said;-)

[Deja Q]

5. Heh, it's fun to see all those bashing this guy with the usual rhetoric...

of "living above one's means."

Not much is being said about something far more sinister.

Let's not forget that the banking industry is trying to change the bankruptcy laws. Which might actually go through this session, especially if the cowards staple the bankruptcy "reform" bill onto something else, as they sometimes do for other bills that have trouble going through on their own.

People can say what they want about the Romanian dude for overspending. But they shouldn't forget the facts: The banking industry targets people and is outright predatory against college-aged kids, that's well known.

And don't forget, as most Americans surely have done, most businesses have to take risks. The banking industry wants to tilt the system to their favor by removing the risks involved in their business... (just as insurance companies also screw the rules of business by passing losses back to the customer rather than the execs taking a rightfully smaller paycheck... )

Cable companies is another example, they exist as mini-monopolies because of districting; they can charge what they like and you can't change because a competitor is in another district.

Is it free enterprise to create a system that does an end-run around ethics?