Blogs

Susanne Soederberg, a professor of political studies and global development studies at Queen’s University in Canada, is calling for the student loan industry to be, “revealed, attacked, and uprooted.”
In her article on Dollars & Sense, Soederberg says the educational finance is not part of the natural order of things. Rather, it’s part of the poverty industry, which

includes educational lending, but extends to other forms of consumer credit—such as payday loans, credit cards, sub-prime housing loans—all of which feed off of and reproduce marginalization and insecurity. The increasing reliance on expensive personal loans to replace or augment wages—as well as obtain an education—is not a natural phenomenon. Rather, it is a social construction that needs be revealed, attacked, and uprooted, not negotiated within the territory of consumer protection, which is sponsored by the debtfare state and the capitalist interests it represents.

The debtfare state, a term apparently coined by Soederberg, is what she calls a new feature of governance that exists alongside the welfare state. The system uses a set of institutional and ideological practices aimed at

regulating and normalizing the growing dependence on expensive consumer credit to meet basic needs, such as education. Personal bankruptcy law is a core regulatory feature of debtfarism, as it acts to deal with defaults in the student loan industry and to ensure the legal and moral obligation of debt—regardless of the borrower’s ability to repay.

In other words, the government creates a new set of laws that’s designed to keep people in debt except in only the most extreme of situations.
By creating a safety valve in the form of bankruptcy the government can punish people by forcing them into bankruptcy as it ignores the fact that it created the regulatory scheme that made it inevitable that people would need the help in the first place.
It’s akin to a diet drug manufacturer going out and buying a cupcake factory to ensure that it has enough customers who want to buy the diet drug.
Leave it to a Canadian to see things clearly.
Banks lend money to people who have been sold on the American Dream of higher education as a ticket to wealth and stability.
The more those people borrow, the more money the banks make. And the less likely they are to repay the debt, the more the bank can charge in interest to those who do make their payments.
In addition, those who fail to pay are subject to lawsuits and judgments, which lead in many cases to wage garnishments and bank account levies.
This, in turn, forces more of the population to rely on credit cards as a way to make ends meet. Here, again, the banks make more money.
All this happens as those who originally sought a way to a better financial future are kept down economically and sociologically.
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. And that makes the rich happier.
Now we’ve got the bankruptcy problem. If we make it too easy for people to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy then more will do so. Banks won’t make as much money, and investors will go elsewhere.
Now, according to Soederberg’s theory, is where the government steps in by creating a series of consumer protection laws. By making relief available at a price (credit standing, money, negative connotations due to societal attitudes), the government is able to show that help is available … to an extent. With respect to student loans, the relief available in the bankruptcy law is so narrowly available as to be worthless.
With bankruptcy safely out of the picture, people remain indebted and the cycle continues. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
It’s an interesting read, and I recommend it highly if for no other reason than as a window into a possible different way of thinking.
Photo credit: fleschmanpix/Flickr

The post Student Loans, Debtfare and the Poverty Industry appeared first on Bankruptcy and Student Loan Lawyers - 866.787.8078.

Filing for bankruptcy is actually a very serious step and, unless properly approached, may lead to unfortunate consequences. Bankruptcy should only be filed when appropriate. A bankruptcy case should also be filed under the appropriate chapter. When a bankruptcy case is filed under the wrong chapter - for example, under chapter 7 instead of chapter 13 - a person may be faced with a very challenging situation.

Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

Probably the worst way for any Portland area Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Debtor to make a monthly payment is out of pocket.  If you have a regular job this isn’t a problem, the payment is just deducted from you wages and you never falls behind. Up to now self-employed debtors haven’t had any options other than to obtain checks and mail them once a month. The success rate in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy for debtors taking this route has been abysmal but up to now there hasn’t been any other options.
I am please to report that soon Portland area Chapter 13 Bankruptcy debtors will soon be able to have their payments processed through ePay. This option is way easier and more convenient than the check route and a million times less stressful. A company called TFS will be processing the payments. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Debtors in the Western District of Washington have been using this provider for over a year without incident.
One advantage of the electronic payments is that if you are facing a Motion to Dismiss for unpaid Plan Payments, it will become much easier to meet the deadline and submit proof of payment to the Chapter 13 Trustee. The old way of mailing a check to Memphis, TN and waiting an additional week of so for it to reach the coffers of the Portland Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee will soon be a thing of the past.
If you have any questions about making electronic payments or anything else regarding Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Oregon or Washington, please feel free to contact our offices at 503-232-5303 or book an appointment on this website
The original post is titled Electronic Chapter 13 Plan Payments to the Portland Chapter 13 Trustee , and it came from Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief .

There are several provisions that address transfers before a bankruptcy case - federal bankruptcy statutes, state statutes, and state common law. Transfers that violate these rules are subject to avoidance and the involved parties may face other serious penalties. A bankruptcy debtor who engages in fraudulent transfer can be denied his discharge in bankruptcy.

Solvency
Solvency relates to the ability of a person to pay debts are they mature or in the ordinary course of business. One key item looked to as to whether the transfer was fraudulent is the "solvency" of the transferor - the person who made the transfer. Solvency is often referred to as a balance sheet test - the value of a person's assets of all types are compared to the amount of his liabilities.Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com