FINANCE
New Bankruptcy Law Affects Blacks
THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW: WHAT AFRICAN AMERICANS SHOULD KNOW
Q & A with the National Bar Association's Bankruptcy Law Section Chair Arlene Gordon Oliver, Esq.
On October 17, 2005, a new bankruptcy law, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, will go into effect. This new law will have a great impact on consumers, as it will make it much harder for debtors to wipe out credit card debt. Instead the new laws could push for debtors to file Chapter 13, which means they will still be required to repay their outstanding debt over an extended period of time. Arlene Gordon Oliver, Esq. is a partner at Rattet, Pasternak and Gordon Oliver, LLP., a law firm in New York State specializing in bankruptcy. She is also chairperson for the Bankruptcy Law Section of The National Bar Association, which convenes for its 80th annual convention July 30-August 6, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.
Q: How will this new law impact people who are in financial trouble and may need to file bankruptcy or Chapter 7?
A: Anyone who seeks to file (for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy), will be forced to undergo a "means test". The "means test" requires inter alia, that their gross income will be measured against the state's median. If their gross income is higher than their state's median income, they will not be able to file Chapter 7, but will be forced to file a Chapter 13 or Wage Earners Bankruptcy. This means that they will have to repay their existing debt using a portion of their income over 5 years. In addition, this new law will require that before filing, debtors will be required to take credit counseling classes. This will prolong the filing process which could cause debtors to lose their assets and will also increase the fees and expenses for filing bankruptcy.
Q: What is the difference between filing Chapter 7 and filing Chapter 13?
A: Chapter 7 means that the debtor's debt slate is wiped clean and they get a "fresh start". Filing Chapter 13 places the debtor on a repayment plan to repay their debt (under the new law debtors will be required to repay debt over a five 5 year period).
Q: What is the National Bar Association's view of this new law?
A: As Chairperson of The National Bar Association Bankruptcy Law Section, I view these changes as unnecessary and burdensome. The process has not only become complicated for debtors, but for their attorneys as well, who will now have to sign a "certification" that they have conducted an investigation into the debtor's financial affairs and attorneys will be subject to sanctions in the event that the debtor's petition and schedules contained inaccuracies. The new legislation also appears to severely limit the discretion of Bankruptcy Judges. I believe that the Bankruptcy Judges, the Office of the United States Trustee, the Chapter 13 Trustees and Chapter 7 Panel Trustees do a very good job at weeding out the abusers. In addition, debtors who are planning to file bankruptcy will incur many more additional charges. For example, they will have to pay for credit counsel in addition to the legal fees for filing, and the legal costs will be higher because this filing process will now be very lengthy.
Q: Do you think this is fair?
A: Most consumers do not abuse the system. Many of my clients who file for bankruptcy, have had hardships such as business failings, health issues and divorce. In many cases, I have had clients come to me almost at the eve of foreclosure sales of their homes or businesses. When this law goes into effect, it will be more difficult to save their assets because before filing for bankruptcy, debtors will be required to attend credit counseling classes up to 180 days before filing and their legal counsel must certify that have investigated their financial circumstances before taking them on as a client. In addition, before receiving a discharge, the debtor must complete an instructional course (which carries an additional fee) concerning personal financial management.
Q: Can a person undergoing hardship still use bankruptcy to stay an eviction?
A: Bankruptcy will no longer stay an eviction if a judgment was obtained prior to the filing.
Q: What are some things debtors should be more mindful of?
A: Credit card companies: I think now credit card companies are going to become more aggressive in inviting consumers to apply for credit card applications. Consumers will now find it more difficult and expensive to file bankruptcy. This will lead the credit card companies to garnish wages, lien bank accounts and possibly seize other assets. Anyone who foresees medical issues or financial problems should seek counsel now and have someone go over their financial affairs with them. Should they need to file bankruptcy, they should do so before October 17.
GRASSROOTS REPARATIONS ORGANIZATIONS BLAST WACHOVIA'S NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AS CORPORATE DUPLICITY IN ITS HIGHEST FORM
Provides a Mere $10-$11 Million To Black Organizations From A Community Reinvestment Act Fund of $75 Billion Over The Next Five Years.
Wachovia Sets Value of Black Lives At $2.25
Chicago, IL (BlackNews.com) - Major grassroots organizations, scholars and activists today dismissed the July 28th announcement by Wachovia highlighting its $10 million in new funding to national partnerships.
"None of the initiatives cited reflect any groundbreaking thinking or action," stated Dr. Conrad Worrill, Chair of the National Black United Front. "Their partnering with mainstream civil rights organizations to promote safe initiatives is the equivalent of leftovers from the big house being presented to the enslaved as a new meal. Wachovia is not doing anything that takes them outside of their current corporate agenda or goals. All they have done is present their on-going corporate goals in new packaging to mainstream civil rights organizations. It is the greatest sleight of hand trick since Houdini."
While Wachovia's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ken Thompson, insists that the partnerships are meant to make a meaningful difference for African-Americans, Dr. Raymond A. Winbush, editor/author of the book "Should America Pay: Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations" and International Advisor to the Global Afrikan Congress, firmly states that "If Wachovia was really interested in atoning for its participation in one of the most horrendous crimes against humanity in world history - that of enslavement and its aftermath -- it first would have negotiated in good faith with those grassroots organizations, scholars, and activists who have been working on the issue of reparations and atonement for years."
He adds, "Wachovia should have worked with them to craft a plan instead of telling them what they were going to do. What they have done in process is comparable to a criminal determining his/her own sentence: they have decided what they want to do and then told their partners to take it or leave it. Wachovia pats itself on the back for a $10 million dollar initiative while discounting the fact that it values each of the 4 million Africans emancipated in 1865 at $2.25."
Ken Thompson has countered that the partnerships with mainstream civil rights organizations reflect feedback and ideas that we received from employees, customers and community organizations, including many leaders in the African-American community.
But Iris Dunmore, Economic Representative of the National Black United Front, observes, "Any organization that accepts this money is legitimizing an illegitimate process and must be held accountable by our community. Wachovia's effort is corporate duplicity in its highest form and must not be allowed to stand as a symbol of atonement or resolution to its shameful past."
William Merritt, Director of the National Black United Fund states that "Wachovia's timidity in even using the term reparations is indicative of how the master-slave relationship is still alive and well at its corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina."
Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, who has pioneered efforts to seek corporate restitution for their ties to slavery and Chair of the Restitution Study Group says, "Our national grassroots support is probably larger than any Black organization in this nation as polls indicate that over 75% of African Americans want corporations complicit in slavery to pay restitution (Gallup/CNN /USA Today 2002). Our base is at least 24 million of the 39.2 million African Americans in this country. This is a significant number to consider for a company interested in emerging markets."
It is important to note that Wachovia has set aside $75 billion over the next five years under the Community redevelopment Act (CRA), and that such capacity suggests that financing the proposed healing initiatives sought by reparations groups should not pose any problem to the corporation.
Adeyemi Bandele, longtime activist, organizer and Executive Director of Men on the Move, declared that "action must be taken against any corporation that wishes to make inconsequential economic gestures towards organizations by giving them just another program rather than making systemic changes that will have a ripple effect throughout the African community in America. We see them for what they are, a corporate publicity stunt designed to deceive the Black community or it reflects an ignorance of the tremendous depth of the crime commited against humanity and the African American community by the African Slave trade."
Leslie Brown, filmmaker and CEO of Untold Legacy Productions Inc., says "I would hope that Wachovia would reconsider its current position and increase funding beyond the $10 million over 5 years, as well as the number of organizations the company will monetarily support. Specifically, those non-traditional organizations that seek to address the cruel and brutal legacy of slavery. As one of the first corporations to disclose complicity and profits gained during the Transatlantic Slave trade, Wachovia has the responsibility to set a precedent that goes beyond the standard apology and business as usual."
Dorothy Benton Lewis former National Co-Chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) says "Wachovia and all who participated must pay the price for enslaving Africans in America. The $10 million dollars given from their corporate slush funds to mainstream Black organizations represents hush money and business as usual. It does not represent a down payment on their atrocities. Even Muammar Qaddafi showed more respect and accountability with his reparations offer to family members of a downed airliner. And when one considers that banks can parlay a $5 billion African debt into $35 billion with interest, clearly time (by their own standards) increases the debt."
She continues, "We offered them an honorable, inclusive, and respectful way to involve the grassroots community responsible for making them come clean, and they ignored it, choosing to deal with the folks in the house rather than those in the community. We will continue to organize the African American community to expose this low regard for African life and blatant disrespect for their descendants who are demanding justice, truth, and accountability for the crime against African humanity and enslavement in this country."
Grassroots organizations, mainstream civil rights groups, activists and scholars will continue to press Wachovia for a true response to its June 1st announcement of historical ties to slavery.
August 2, 2005
EUR News
THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW: What African Americans Should Know
On October 17, 2005, a new bankruptcy law, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, will go into effect. This new law will have a great impact on consumers, as it will make it much harder for debtors to wipe out credit card debt. Instead the new laws could push for debtors to file Chapter 13, which means they will still be required to repay their outstanding debt over an extended period of time.
Read more
August 25, 2005
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September 6, 2005
Social Security Change
WHY WAIT UNTIL 2008? THERE IS AN ELECTION IN 2006. I HEREWITH
FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR ELECTION IN 2006.
LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER"AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WITH ME ON THIS BY REPLYING AND FORWARDING TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.
ABOVE MESSAGE DATED 4/25/05
IN CHATTANOOGA, TN
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!
KEEP IT GOING!!!!
2008 Election Issue!!
GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC.
This must be an issue in "2008" Please! Keep it going.
SOCIAL SECURITY:
(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.
Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security
and, of course, they do not collect from it.
You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of
their rare elevation in society.They felt they should have aspecial plan
for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.
In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change
it. After all, it is a great plan.
For all practical purposes their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they
die.
Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living
adjustments..
For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may
expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand
Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of
their lives.
T his is calculated on an average life span for each of those two
Dignitaries.
Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much
more during the rest of their lives.
Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA....ZILCH....
This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You
and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement
plan come directly from the General Funds;
"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!
From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have
paid) into,-every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our
employer)-we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per monthafter
retirement.
Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000
monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator! Bill
Bradley's benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were
made. That change would be to:
Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and
Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us
then sit back.....and see how fast they would fix it.
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be
planted and maybe good changes will evolve.
How many people CAN you send this to?
Better yet.....
How many people WILL you send this to ?
September 8, 2005
This comes in from HeartfeltPro
WHERE TO BUY YOUR GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON...
Why didn't George W. think of this?
Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us!
The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil :
Arab oil:
Shell............................. 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels
If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION!
Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Other Oil:
Citgo.......................0 barrels
Sunoco...................0 barrels
Conoco..................0 barrels
Sinclair...................0 barrels
BP/Phillips..............0 barrels
Hess.......................0 barrels
ARC0.....................0 barrels
All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.
Now, don't wimp out at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I'm sending this note to about thirty people.
If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers!
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it ..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people.
How long would all that take?
If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next eight days!
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