Seasonal greetings and all that other corporate crap, at least until the bills start rolling in over New Years. It is common to see most Americans overspend during the Christmas season and this year is no different. It’s hard not to when we’re bombarded with television, newspaper, and radio commercials for doling out amazing deals that aren’t available at any other time of year. Corporate America does a great job persuading Americans to buy things they can’t afford. If it weren’t for the credit card, they wouldn’t have games to play. The majority of Americans today are either broke or nearing it. If all their creditors had to be paid today, almost everyone would file for bankruptcy.
Since the economic downturn in 2007, the US has not seen any of the recovery that the mainstream media continues to report. The numbers don’t add up. The Fed continues to print $85 billion a month with quantitative easing to keep interest rates for corporate America down at 0%. Main St., America doesn’t benefit from any of these Fed policies, only the big banks and financial institutions. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting ready to go bankrupt. There has been an even greater gap between the rich and the poor with the middle class almost completely evaporating. Jobs left and did not return. The real estate market has been on a roll recently, but when you look at the real numbers with first time buyers and people financing their homes, you will see the vast majority of homes being sold are to investors and cash buyers.
A study recently came out saying that every American is three weeks away from filing for bankruptcy. How did they come up with these statistics by looking at the average debt ratio and cost of living. The average American has $16,000 in credit card debt and makes only $35,000 a year. Just add up their living expenses and this person is three weeks away from filing for bankruptcy. It’s sad, but it makes sense. What happened in the past when it was more about the thought than the price of the gift. People used to spend time searching for the perfect gift within their budget that would get their family members in the mood on Christmas morning. Now about the cubic dollars, if it doesn’t cost a lot it won’t be good, at least that’s what corporate America would have you believe. And that’s why many Americans will once again call a bankruptcy attorney their New Year’s resolution. I believe that people in this situation should not feel guilty about filing for bankruptcy. In today’s media-driven world, it’s almost impossible not to get caught up in the buy now pay later lifestyle. There is fault for these creditors as well. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t be paying their bills, but that they are not totally responsible for their own debt situation. As the government continues to crack down on laws that favor big banks and corporations, people need to take advantage of our bankruptcy laws before they are no longer available to them.