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My husband and I wanted to begin the process of starting our bankruptcy, but it’s really scary not knowing who you can trust and who would step up to bat for you. Diane and Jay really did that, if felt like we had some friends who cared about us and took their time to walk us through each step with compassion and no judgment what so ever! I would refer them to any and all of my closest family and friends if they were in need of a bankruptcy! Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
D.K.
Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
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The post Client Review 3 appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney.
My husband and I wanted to begin the process of starting our bankruptcy, but it’s really scary not knowing who you can trust and who would step up to bat for you. Diane and Jay really did that, if felt like we had some friends who cared about us and took their time to walk us through each step with compassion and no judgment what so ever! I would refer them to any and all of my closest family and friends if they were in need of a bankruptcy! Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
D.K.
Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
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You literally saved my sanity and helped me get back on track. D.S.
Diane Drain and her paralegal, Jay McClimon were absolutely top-notch and experienced in every respect. She’s experienced, kind, and compassionate – 3 qualities you really want in a bankruptcy attorney. I had been feeling very paralyzed for 2 years, knowing I needed to file for a Chapter 7, but overwhelmed and, frankly, terrified of the process. After months of panic attacks, sleepless nights and anxiety, I realized: I can’t live this way. I spoke to several lawyers and got a lot of bad advice (“quit your job”). Finally, a friend referred me to Diane. She patiently and guided me through a process that I simply could not have done without her. And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind. After 3 months, the Chapter 7 was discharged and closed. It’s now in my rear-view mirror and I can focus on rebuilding my life. Thank you, Diane and Jay. You literally saved my sanity and helped me get back on track.
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https://catalyst.independent.org/2020/08/22/covid-19-small-business-post...
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Will Small Businesses Stay Closed Post-Pandemic?
Can the United States stand to lose the four million small businesses Oxxford predicts?
By Luka Ladan August 22, 2020 Economy & Jobs| Articles
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More than one million. That is how many small businesses have closed in the United States, due, in one way or another, to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to New York-based Oxxford Information Technology, as many as 1.4 million small businesses closed their doors or temporarily suspended operations in the second quarter. By the end of the year, four million small businesses could be lost. This means job loss of epic proportions: In June, the number of people working at companies with fewer than 500 employees (e.g. the “small business” threshold) dropped by nearly 11 percent from its February peak.
Millions and millions of previously employed Americans are being affected, to say nothing of those who enter the job market every year, who they are now competing with.
Unfortunately, the short-term economic bleeding could be even worse than anticipated. Thousands of small businesses are closing their doors without reporting closure, which Bloomberg’s Madeleine Ngo describes as “silent failures.” In Ngo’s words: “This wave of silent failures goes uncounted in part because real-time data on small business is notoriously scarce, and because owners of small firms often have no debt, and thus no need for bankruptcy court.”
While the immediate economic picture is anything but rosy, the stubborn persistence of the coronavirus also raises longer-term questions. Namely, how will a “black swan” event like the COVID-19 pandemic impact entrepreneurship in the years and decades to come?
Entrepreneurship is already an uphill battle. One in five small businesses fails within the first year. By the end of their fifth year, roughly 50 percent have been wiped out. Within a decade, only about a third survive.
Then, there is generational difference. The Millennial generation was already more risk-averse than its predecessors, with many young professionals choosing a traditional work arrangement over the turbulence of business formation. Interestingly, Millennials do fancy themselves as entrepreneurial, with 60 percent of Millennials considering themselves entrepreneurs and 90 percent recognizing entrepreneurship as a mentality.
However, they are not walking the walk: In 2015, the share of people under age 30 who own private businesses reached a 24-year low, plummeting from 10.9 percent in 1989 to just 3.6 percent. More recently, Guidant Financial found that 12 percent of America’s small business owners are Millennials, although they comprise half of the U.S. workforce.
Of course, the Millennial generation’s risk-aversion is not one-dimensional. From student loan debt to an inability to gain market share, there are many explanations for slumping start-up rates, and some are certainly valid. At a time when “cash on hand” is more valuable than ever, entrepreneurship may simply be a bridge too far.
Which brings us back to the COVID-19 pandemic: Where does entrepreneurship go from here? More likely than not, an already risk-averse generation will take in a “black swan” event and decide to mitigate risk even further. The sudden vulnerability of America’s labor market will be reason enough, for Millennials and many other Americans, to opt for the “sure thing” of traditional employment, rather than the great unknown of entrepreneurship.
Look at it this way: In 2001, only 24 percent of Americans then aged 25-to-34 claimed that fear of failure was keeping them from starting a business. By 2014, 40 percent of the same demographic reported that fear—a 16 percent increase between generations. The COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to diminish those anxieties, when business failure has become so mainstream.
None of these trends bode well for U.S. economy, one dependent on the growth potential of human innovation. There will always be exceptions to the rule (see: Mark Zuckerberg), but would a younger Mark Zuckerberg decide to become an entrepreneur in today’s business climate? Perhaps not.
One thing is clear: A large-scale shift away from entrepreneurship is sure to undermine America’s long-term gross domestic product, job creation, poverty, and other economic indicators. Without the entrepreneur, America’s once-extraordinary economic experiment begins looking like the rest.
My husband and I wanted to begin the process of starting our bankruptcy, but it’s really scary not knowing who you can trust and who would step up to bat for you. Diane and Jay really did that, if felt like we had some friends who cared about us and took their time to walk us through each step with compassion and no judgment what so ever! I would refer them to any and all of my closest family and friends if they were in need of a bankruptcy! Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
D.K.
Thank you both for taking care of us and taking the time!!
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This story orginally appeared at https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/taxi-drivers-protest-no-coronav...
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Taxi Drivers Protest With No Coronavirus Relief In Sight
Drivers shut down traffic around city hall to protest a lack of aid, and continued on to medallion creditors who still demand payment.
By Documented NY, News Partner
Aug 21, 2020 1:19 pm ET
Bronx, New York - May 6, 2018: Views of Jerome Street in the Bronx.
Bronx, New York - May 6, 2018: Views of Jerome Street in the Bronx. (Photo: Christopher Lee for Documented.)
August 21 2020
Max Siegelbaum @maxsiegelbaum
Taxi drivers parked their cabs and shut down the area around New York City Hall on Wednesday morning to demand help from the mayor. COVID-19 has dried up most of their fares, and creditors are still seeking money for their taxi medallions that have plummeted in value. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance organized the rally, which proceeded from city hall to buildings of taxi loan creditors in Long Island and New Jersey. The organization estimates ridership has dropped between 80 percent and 90 percent during the pandemic. "The brokers, the mayor the banks, they all said they would take care of yellow medallion taxis, but instead, the TLC [Taxi and Limousine Commission) didn't tell drivers the medallion was going to drop from hundreds of thousands of dollars to only $83,000 — leaving many of us with huge debt and it's killing us," one driver said outside City Hall. amNY
This article originally appeared on August 10, 2020 at https://www.studyfinds.org/quarter-americans-missed-bill-payment-covid-19/
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Tough for many these days, and a new survey shows that Americans are cutting costs or even adopting a ‘minimalistic’ lifestyle to make ends meet.
NEW YORK — From our social lives to professional careers, life as we know it has shifted since the beginning of 2020. Well, almost everything; millions may have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean the bills have stopped coming. Indeed, paying off bills are an unavoidable part of life, even during a pandemic. Unfortunately, a new survey of 2,000 Americans finds that one in four (24%) have already missed at least one payment since the pandemic began.
Among that group, 26% say they haven’t paid their cell phone or cable bills. Another 25% failed to pay for streaming services, and perhaps more worryingly, some of their electricity or utilities bills.
On average, Americans who admit to skipping a bill payment have missed five bills altogether.
Commissioned by EnergyBot, the survey set out to gauge just how much COVID-19 has dealt a blow to Americans financially. Predictably, money is a big concern these days. In fact, 63% say they’re “always” worried about paying all their bills right now. Similarly, 58% are battling extra stress over their bills since the pandemic started.
Ways we’re cutting back
With those last stats in mind, it makes sense then that 65% of respondents admit they’ve had to make some sacrifices lately to make ends meet. What type of sacrifices are we talking about? Many have cancelled subscription services (38%) and gym memberships (39%). Others are cutting costs by no longer ordering takeout food (35%).
All in all, 52% say they only buy the “essentials” these days. Another 43% are no longer buying premium quality goods (toilet paper, gas) in an effort to save some cash. Some are adopting new lifestyles: 41% say they’re following “minimalistic” approach to life.
Moreover, about two in five people never use their credit card anymore because it encourages them to spend more.
Raiding retirement to pay off bills
A third of Americans have also been forced to dip into their savings accounts because of COVID-19. On that note, 55% of respondents often feel “overwhelmed” by just how much the coronavirus has changed their financial footing.
Even small expenses, like repairing a broken home appliance, just aren’t possible right now. A significant portion of respondents (35%) have learned to live without a broken appliance because they just can’t afford to fix it. Meanwhile, 68% have tried to fix the appliance themselves (or asked a spouse to fix it). Others (33%) have used some of their savings to solve such issues when they were unable to fix the item themselves.
Another 37% say, however, that they wouldn’t even have enough savings to fix appliances if they were to break.
A few other common ways Americans are saving money through this pandemic are: turning off lights when they’re not needed (62%); turning off appliances when they’re not being used (46%); closing windows/doors when the heat is on (42%); opening the windows instead of using AC (36%); and using blinds to adjust room temperature (33%).
A $3500 loan at 29% interest grows to a $45,000 garnishment. How fast does at debt at 29% interest add up? For Wilson a $3500 loan grew to a $45,000 garnishment in ten years. Wilson borrowed $3500 from a Finance Company in 2004. He took out that loan to pay off some collections and raise […]
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This article orginally appeared in Cranes New York Business on August 13, 2020 at
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/taxi-commission-fails-regulate-uber-and-lyft-under-two-year-old-city-law
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Taxi commission fails to regulate Uber and Lyft under two-year-old city law
BRIAN PASCUS
The city’s taxi enforcement agency known for its heavy hand with drivers has neglected to implement a two-year-old law aimed at helping yellow taxis compete with Uber and Lyft as the ride-hail apps roiled the industry.
Local Law 149, signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and enacted Aug. 14, 2018, created the category of High Volume For Hire Services—companies that handle more than 10,000 rides a day—and required them to apply for a special permit through the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Under the regulation they must turn over records, including driver compensation, environmental impact, financial impact and other information, that could result in further restrictions on them.
So far, both Uber and Lyft have applied for the permits, but the TLC has not approved their applications.
“The TLC failed to timely enact regulations and enact the legislation which their chair asked for,” said Christopher Lynn, a TLC commissioner from 1996 to 1998. “In other words, the TLC did everything else except level the playing field and hold Uber accountable.”
The law sought to provide greater transparency of companies, such as Uber and Lyft, whose fleet of cars had risen exponentially in the city beginning in 2011 at the expense of traditional yellow taxi drivers and livery black car taxis, leading many of these drivers to fall into bankruptcy and despair. There were several taxi-industry suicides before the law’s passage.
For taxi medallion owners, the TLC’s lack of enforcement is nothing short of a betrayal of its mission to regulate and protect the yellow cab medallion industry.
“I expected the TLC to enforce the rules that they’ve had on the books for many years, which would’ve prevented many of the excessive for-hire vehicles from ever being on the road,” said Carolyn Protz, a taxi medallion owner. “The TLC hasn’t done anything. They haven’t held the app companies to the rules they were supposed to create.”
More than that, industry insiders say, the city could be leaving money uncollected during an extreme budget crisis. The penalty for companies operating without the High Volume For Hire Service license is a $10,000 fine each day the violation is in place.
The law explicitly states it is unlawful for these types of companies to operate unless licensed by the TLC.
But emails and legal documents obtained by Crain’s show that Uber and Lyft have been operating in New York without an approved high-volume license for two years.
During a July 23, 2019, public hearing before the TLC, Uber noted that the status of its high-volume license, which had been submitted to the TLC, was still pending. That September the TLC testified that it was in the process of implementing the law.
Not much changed nearly a year later.
An email exchange from June 18 of this year between Kala Wright, the TLC's deputy commissioner for policy, and Protz confirmed that Uber, Lyft and Via were still operating without an approved license as late as 20 months after the City Council passed the bill.
“Hi Carolyn, thanks for following up, the [high-volume] licenses are still under review, all of the company's (sic) have submitted their application materials,” Wright wrote at the time.
Lyft confirmed that it has not heard back from the TLC on its application.
"The TLC has yet to issue formal [high-volume] licenses or provide indication of when those should be expected," Lyft representative Campbell Matthews said.
Uber and Via did not respond to a request for comment.
For its part, the TLC has said that it’s done nothing wrong, but the agency failed to make clear why it has delayed subjecting the ride-hail apps to the law.
“Uber and Lyft are indeed fully licensed and will remain so while their HVFHV applications are being processed,” said Allan Fromberg, a spokesman for the TLC, using the designation for high volume for-hire vehicles.
Medallion owners, such as Protz, can’t understand how the TLC could turn a blind eye to the regulations established under a new law explicitly passed to level the playing field among all drivers and ride-share companies.
“The TLC is really rogue. They just ignored what they were told to do by the City Council,” she said.
Baked into Local Law 149 are a few different licensing requirements that Uber and Lyft must comply with to be licensed under the law. These requirements include a list of bases through which the companies will dispatch trips, a business plan with trip volumes, a vehicle count, accessibility requirements and an impact analysis.
The impact analysis assesses the effect of a prospective licensee’s operation on the environment and documents the applicant’s impact on traffic congestion, public transportation, private motor vehicles and noise in the city area.
It is thought that these regulations—notably a comprehensive account of the environmental impact tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft vehicles have on the city's environment—would complicate, if not prove detrimental, to the ride-share companies.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said agency representatives testified to the council in September 2019 that they were working on implementing the law.
“The council passed laws regulating for-hire vehicles with the expectation that the TLC would implement and enforce them as soon as possible, so it's frustrating to hear this is taking so long,” Johnson said. “I urge the TLC to take action quickly to fix this situation and comply with the law we passed.”
Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., who introduced the bill, has called on Attorney General Letitia James to investigate what he said is lack of oversight by the TLC.
Councilman Ritchie J. Torres, who chairs the Oversights and Investigations Committee, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the allegations that the TLC is circumventing local law.
“No agency gets to pick and choose the laws it wishes to follow,” Torres spokesman Raymond Rodriguez said. “The TLC has an obligation to faithfully follow all local laws, and Local Law 149 is by no means an exception.”
For medallion owners, who have seen their livelihood altered in the face of the ride-share onslaught, the failure of the TLC and the de Blasio administration to implement Local Law 149 has dramatically altered the city’s transportation landscape.
“They damaged public transportation, increased pollution, increased congestion, destroyed a $15 billion taxi medallion franchise and created poverty among all the drivers,” Protz said. “And they’ve done all that for nothing.”
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