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Tag Archives: Tacoma Bankruptcy

Aprendalo! (Learn it!) How the Hispanicisation of America provides a road to your financial security.

In December 2005, I booked a United Airlines ticket to Antigua, Guatemala. I had enrolled in an intense course of Spanish instruction. The course was one-on-one. One teacher, one student (me) for six hours per day, six days per week.

I resided with a wonderful Guatemalan family in their large home, studying for about eleven days. I returned in June 2006 for three weeks of study and studied similarly in August 2006, February 2007 and March 2008. March 2006-May 2009 I studied almost weekly for two hours with a wonderful Guatemalan lady, meeting every Monday evening, at Borders Books in Lakewood, WA.

Why?

America is turning hispanic. One forecast I read indicated that by 2047, Spanish would be the dominant language in California.

An interesting September 11, 2010 article in The Economist magazine was further informative:

Over 40% of New Mexico’s population is of hispanic origin.

30% to 40% of Texans, Arizonians and California are of hispanic origin.

20% to 30% of Nevada’s, Florida’s and Colorado’s population is of hispanic origin.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have populations estimated at 10% to 20% latino in origin.

These foreign room, board and lessons packages in Guatemala and Nicaragua are inexpensive and easy to access. You just call or email the school and ask them to pick you up at the airport. It is usually truly that simple. The total room, board and lessons package runs about $175-220 per week depending on whether u have a teacher for 20 or 30 hours per week.

I recommend Roger Ramirez’s One-on-One Tutoring in Granada, Nicaragua or Ixchel Spanish School in Antigua, Guatemala. Google them for contact information.

70/70 Radio – Hispanic demographic changes alter media formats – La Kalle from S.F. California

My wife’s uncle is a fine fellow – he is an Iranian immigrant who lost nearly everything when the Shah of Iran’s regime fell in the late 1970s with the Islamic Revolution.

Nevertheless, he has hacked out a place here in America with the hard work of his wife, a registered nurse.

They are profoundly interesting people for whom I have the deepest respect.

This Iranian immigrant has purchased 11 acres of Chardonnay grapes in one of the best locales of Napa Valley, California, and he farms the vines with his heart, sweat and soul, aided by his sons and wife. He does side jobs as an architect to make extra money.

But this blog post is not about Iranian immigrants….it is about the immigration and melding of latino and caucasian culture here in the United States.

Every year my wife and I (and now our three children) go down to visit her uncle at his vineyard. We usually fly into Oakland, California and rent a car for a drive north of some hour and thirty minutes.

As a radio "dial flipper", on this ride I bumped into something odd about three years ago. I began listening to SF Bay station with a heavy DJ presence, and what was odd is that the DJs would deliver the spoken content in about 70% Spanish and 70% English, so the DJs were frequently repeating much (but not all) of their content.

"Muy buenos dias caballeros y ladies, hace mucho calor hoy mismo, today it is going to be hot, por eso no olviden tomar algo muy refresco y remember to turn up the air conditioner while you enjoy that cold drink."

I found it disorienting to try to imitate this manner of speaking…and I wondered how it came to exist?

I was listening to La Kalle, a station that mixed Spanish and English language and also Spanish and English pop music.

Over the past three years, I have noticed that the station La Kalle seems to be shifting a bit more towards devoting a significant share of the play time (but still less than 50%) to English language pop/rock music, with an emphasis on current top 40 hits. In prior years, the English language music seemed to be just an occassional garnish, so obviously, La Kalle is trying to figure out its market and fine tune something new.

Here are some reviews for San Francisco Bay Area station La Kalle (a funny word play on "La Calle" which means "The Street" – see how they used the letter "K"? The letter "k" is common in English, but is extremely rare in Spanish, so it uses a mix of English and Spanish spelling for a Spanish word, using "K" as the first letter in the radio station’s call moniker. ) Below is a link to some reviews of this station posted by English speakers:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-kalle-radio-100-7-and-105-7-fm-san-francisco

In June 2009, I obtained satellite radio for the first time – and I noticed that even in top 40 current music (Sirius channels 20-24) there is quite a bit of Spanish language creeping into pop music, and I am hearing reggeaton sounding beats from time to time.

Why am I talking about a San Francisco Bay area radio station on a bankruptcy lawyer’s blog?

It is because I am telling you of a change that is coming. You can get ahead of that change and secure your employment future with a burst of concentrated and focused energy. You need to learn Spanish. You can do it in 18 months if you work hard.

On my last two visits to Maui, Hawai’i, (June 2010 and December 2010) again and again, I bumped into many people speaking Spanish. It was odd for me to be in Hawai’i, speaking Spanish.

There is a Central American diaspora going on as we speak. It ebbs and flows according to comparative economic conditions, but it never goes away. There is net migratory inflow to the US from our Southern neighbors…and there has been for years. Many of these new immigrants are concentrating in communities where they no no longer need to learn English well in order to survive.

Businesses, the government and employers will need to serve these people who end up not learning English very well as they concentrate in communities that are Spanish speaking.

If you are worried about the future, learn Spanish, and you will worry about it much less about the future than you used to. I doubt that a Spanish speaking Anglo will ever be unemployed for long as this centry progresses.

If I am overstating my case for Spanish education, then I will stand corrected, as time will tell. Note that if worse comes to worse, you can apply for a DJ job at La Kalle, or some other online and broadcast radio station that are sure to follow this format.

Other posts in my blog give ideas about how to study Spanish – use our Google sitesearch function (the little Google box up in the right-hand corner) to search for the posts.

‘Omm’ for the unemployed – Jobless get another benefit – free yoga (from the AP as reported in The Maui News)

Jeannie Nuss of The Associated Press (as reported in The Maui News, December 22, 2010) notes that a handful of Yoga studios accross the country have began to offer free or reduced priced classes to the unemployed in order to learn how to deal with the stress of unemployment.

"It helps to quiet the mind and helps people realize that this is a temporary situation," says Jo Sgammato, general manager at Integral oga Institute in New York.

Practicing yoga is believed to reduce stress and improve concentration. Some studios also offer special classes to help vetrans work through traumatic experiences and women cope with pregnancies, according to Ms. Nuss of the Associated Press.

Surviving Debt: Eight Credit Card Tips from the National Consumer Law Center

I have mentioned it before – but you really need to buy this book, "Guide to Surviving Debt" 2010 edition, available from the National Consumer Law Center at www.consumerlaw.org for about $20 bucks.

From the "Guide’s" chapter 5 – "Credit Cards", here are eight tips:

(1) Do not use credit cards to finance an unaffordable lifestyle.

(2) Try to avoid making financial trouble worse – avoid the trap to use credit cards to make ends meet.

(3) Don’t get hooked on minimum paymnents (sometimes set at only 2.0% or 4.0% of the balance) – it could take 25 years to pay off the card at that rate, and nothing requires the credit card company to keep that advertised minimum payment AND it could be raised at any time

(4) Temporary teaser’s – don’t run up the balance in reliance on a temporary promotional interest rate.

(5) Make all credit card payments on time.

(6) AVOID the "special services", programs, and goods taht credit card lenders offer to bill to their cards, such as credit card fraud protection plans, credit record protection, travel clubs, life insurance, and other similar offers – most are bad deals and if you reall want that stuff, you can buy it much cheaper elsewhere in the economy.

(7) Beware of unsolicited allowable balance increases. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can really afford more credit.

(8) Don’t max out credit cards – it’s then easy to get socked and soaked with high over-limit fees. You can also then get hit with a "penalty rate" because having when having maxed out credit cards leads to a drop in your credit score.

HAMP modifications 7 of 7: HAMP Modifications – Documents and info normally including in your HAMP request.

How do I apply for a modification under HAMP?

If you meet the general eligibility criteria for a modification under HAMP, you should gather the financial documentation that your servicer will need to determine if you qualify (See “What information and forms will I need in order to be considered for HAMP?”). Once you have this information, you should contact your servicer and ask to be considered for a modification under HAMP. The servicer’s phone number and email address is on your monthly mortgage bill or coupon book. Please be patient yet persistent. Your servicer may be handling a large volume of inquiries about the program and it may take some time before your servicer is able to process your application.

If you would like to speak to a housing counselor, call 888-995-HOPE (4673). HUD-approved housing counselors can help you evaluate your income and expenses and understand your options, and apply to your servicer for HAMP. This counseling is FREE.

If you have already missed one or more mortgage payments and have not yet spoken to your servicer, call your servicer immediately.

What information and forms will I need in order to be considered for HAMP?

Recently, Treasury announced a more streamlined homeowner evaluation process. Now, in order to apply for a Home Affordable Modification, homeowners can submit proof of income (See “What proof of income will I be required to provide with my HAMP application?”) plus the following two forms:

The MHA Request for Modification and Affidavit Form (RMA). This Form captures information on borrower income, expenses, subordinate liens on the property, and liquid assets. It includes a Hardship Affidavit, fraud notice, and information about the Trial Period Plan.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 4506T-EZ (Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript). This form gives permission for your mortgage servicer to request a copy of the most recent tax return you have filed with the IRS. After you have completed the form, print two copies—one for your records and one to send to your mortgage servicer.

Visit the “Request a Modification” section of MakingHomeAfordable.gov for more detailed information.

What proof of income will I be required to provide with my HAMP application?

Be prepared to submit a copy of your two most recent pay stubs that show year-to-date earnings. If you are self-employed, you must provide your most recent quarterly or year-to-date profit/loss statement. Visit the “Request a Modification” section of MakingHomeAfordable.gov for more detailed information. If you cannot find the required documentation, or have questions about the paperwork required, please call 888-995 HOPE (4673) and ask for “MHA HELP.”

I’m self-employed. How do I get a copy of my most recent quarterly or year-to-date Profit and Loss Statement?

Contact your CPA (Certified Public Accountant) or the licensed tax professional who assisted you in completing your tax documentation.

What types of documentation would be considered reliable enough to validate “Other Earned Income” for HAMP?

148B

Other earned income (bonus, commission, fee, housing allowances, tips, overtime) must be documented by your employer in either your paystubs or other employment paperwork/contracts. Homeowners are encouraged to work with their employers to gather this information to describe the nature of the income and the continuity of the income.

51.

57BHow do I get evidence of benefit income (e.g., social security, disability, death benefits, pension, public assistance, adoption assistance)?

149B

You can provide a copy of benefit letters/statements, disability policy, or receipt of payments such as copies of two most recent bank statements showing electronic deposit of benefits. For additional information regarding social security, disability or death benefit income, contact Social Security directly toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or visit their website at www.socialsecurity.gov. For all other benefits, you must contact the provider directly for additional information.

52. How do I get evidence of unemployment benefits?

Evidence of unemployment income may currently be obtained through the Department of Labor UI benefit tool, which is available at http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/ben_entitle.asp. After the Home Affordable Unemployment Program (UP) becomes effective on July 1, 2010, unemployment benefits and severance pay will no longer be acceptable sources of income for HAMP consideration. (See “Home Affordable Unemployment Program (UP)” for more information about help for unemployed homeowners.)

My rental income was not reported on last year’s tax returns because the property was vacant. What documentation do I need to validate rental income?

In such cases where a property has recently been rented, a signed Rental Agreement contract must be provided to show: the property address, date of contract, lessees name and address, rental amount and rental period. The contract must be signed by all parties (lessor, lessee, rental agents etc.)

How do I get a copy of my Divorce Decree, Separation Agreement or other legal written agreements filed with a court (e.g., alimony or child support)?

Gather the information listed below and contact the Office of Vital Statistics in the state where your divorce occurred. The homepage of the state’s website will provide a link/information on how to contact the office of Vital Statistics. Generally, the documentation needed may include, but is not limited to, the following:

Date of your divorce

Full name of spouse

Your driver’s license number

Purpose for which record is needed

Your name and address, together with a self-addressed, stamped envelope

See the June 8, 2010, government publication re: info relevant to this post: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/docs/BORROWER%20FAQs_6-8-10.pdf

Harrisburg is broke! Chapter 9 Bankruptcy looming for the city of Harrisburg, PA. The capital of Pennsylvania goes bust!

Special thanks to the American Bankruptcy Institute (of which I am honored to be a member) for this news flash; The city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania makes an emergency Sunday 9/12/10 appeal for $3.6 million to avoid going bust.

"The State of Pennsylvania is speeding payments of $3.6 million to its debt-laden capital, Harrisburg, to prevent the city from defaulting on a general obligation bond, Gov. Edward G. Rendell said on Sunday, the New York Times reported today. To help the city with its cash flow, the state is fast-tracking payments, which were already in progress, of $1 million for fire protection and $2.6 million for an annual pension fund payment. This month, Harrisburg said that it did not have the money to make a scheduled bond payment of $3.3 million on Sept. 15. City Council members met in early September to discuss a possible chapter 9 filing. Governor Rendell, however, said that bankruptcy should be a last resort for Harrisburg and that missing a bond payment was not an option because a default could have repercussions for other municipalities in the state." American Bankruptcy Institute, September 12, 2010 news-flash.

Is $75,000 the magic number? Study finds no exta happiness above $75k, with one exception.

After achieving an annual household income of $75,000, more income does not correlate to greater happiness, reports a study featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The "Proceedings", known as the PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. PNAS and is an important scientific journal that printed its first issue in 1915 and continues to publish highly cited research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, feature articles, profiles, letters to the editor, and actions of the Academy.

Beyond household income of $75,000 a year, money "deos nothing for hapiness, enjoyment, sadness or stress," the study concluded, as reported by Phyllis Korkki in the New York Times, on September 12, 2010.

The National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1863. The NAS is a private institution, but is recognized and prestigiously chartered by the U.S. Congress, with the goal to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art." By 1914, the Academy was well established, and the content therein is generally regarded as well vetted.

The study, as explained by one of its authors Princeton professor (emeritus) of psychology Daniel Kahneman, relates that it’s not so much that money buys you hapiness, but that if you are miserable and earn less than $75,000 household income per year, a little money will decrease your misery…until you reach the household income annual income level of $75,000. After achieving $75,000 annual household income, adding more money will not make you any less miserable, it seems, according to the study. Says professorKahneman "the lack of money no longer hurts you after $75,000".

Professor Kahneman (a nobel laureate in economics) relates that "Many people want to make a lot of money, but the benfits of having a high income are ambiguous. Wealthy people can buy more pleasures, but studies suggest that wealthier people "seem to be less able to savor the small things in life." reports journalist P. Korkki in the Sunday, September 12, 2010, NY Times.

There may be one exception to the $75,000 rule. A 2007 article found in The Journal of Happiness Studies indicates that those people who have "strong financial aspirations" are unhappy without higher income. A study of 18-19 year old college freshmen found that those expressing a desire for a high salary generally achieved those goals 20 years later: "individuals with strong financial aspirations are socially inclined, confident, ambitious, politically conservative, traditional, conventional and relatively less able academically, but not psychologically distressed" which means that they do tend to achieve their higher financial goals and are thus made emotionally happy. It seems that some people are "hard-wired" to want more money, even from a young age, and failing to achieve that, they fail to achieve a reasonable degree of satisfaction.

Professor Kahneman seems to agree with the 2007 study, that a young person "wanting money is not a recipe for disaster, but [that same young person] wanting money and [eventually] not getting it – that’s a recipe for disaster." as quoted 9/12/2010 in the NY Times.

IDEAS FOR ACTION: NY Times Journalist P. Korkki says that the recession is causing more people to place the financial rewards of a career first; job/career satisfaction choices now often take a back seat to financial gain. Ms. Korkki notes that career counselor Nicholas Lore (founder of the Rockport Institute, a career coaching firm) warns that emphasizing higher income over satisfaction when making a career choice or job change can lead to (a) dissatisfaction and quite ironically can lead to, (b) failure to achieve the hoped for higher income. Counselor Lore relates that if you don’t like accounting but choose to become an accountant, "Chances are you’re not going to be very good at accounting," and that eventually your salary will reflect that. "Generally, people flourish when they’re doing something they like and what they’re good at."

Special thanks to NY Times journalis Phyllis Korkki for the content of this post. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/jobs/12search.html

Fed and FDIC Testimony on Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Legislation: Lessons Learned

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke praised the new Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation and offered a frank appraisal of his mistakes since 2006 in September 2, 2010 testimony before the Congressional Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

It should be noted that September 15, 2008 (just next week) marks the two-year anniversary of the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers. NY Times columnist Sewell Chan notes that the Lehman failure was the “nadir”, or lowest, moment of the financial crisis.

“The Dodd-Frank legislation gives the Federal Reserve Bank oversight over the largest financial institutions, including those that are not banks (such as American International Group, or “AIG” – JHM). It gave the Fed a prominent role in the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a body of regulators with the power to seize and break up a systemically important company if it threatens economic stability. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would manage that [breakup] process, known as resolution.” writes Mr. Chan.

Mr. Bernanke recounted his errors, indicating that he was wrong in 2007 when declaring that the subprime mortgage crisis could be contained and would not infect nor destabilize other parts of the financial system. Mr. Bernanke denied allegations that the Federal Reserve bank was at least partly responsible for the housing price bubble by keeping interest rates too low during the 2002-2004 period. An implication of Mr. Chan’s summary of Mr. Bernanke’s testimony before Congress appears to be that Mr. Bernanke now believes that trying try to identify a “bubble” in the economy early enough is part of the Fed’s charter. If such a “bubble” could be identified early enough to justify Fed action, the Fed could decide to increase interest rates so as to slow down the growth of the bubble.

Here is the link to the interesting NY Times, September 3, 2010 article.

Ideas for Action: Few of us have the resources and knowledge available to Mr. Bernanke. However, starting to keep a family budget, carefully monitoring your spending, and creating a savings plan for both retirement and “rainy days” are among the prudent steps that we all can take to keep financial problems from becoming too big to handle.

Is Bankruptcy the same everywhere? An Irish perspective.

Is bankruptcy the same everywhere? Let’s compare Ireland with the USA. All of the statistics that follow are from 2009 data.

– Population: USA 310,178,000. Ireland: 4,178,000.

– Bankruptcies: USA: 1,572,597. Ireland: 17.

– Bankruptcies as a percentage of population: USA 0.5% (one-half of one percent); Ireland: 0.0004% (four one-millionth of one percent). In other words, USA had 12,500 percent more bankruptcies than Ireland.

The bankruptcy process in Ireland is nearly non-existent. Ireland does not offer its citizens a “fresh start” like America’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, nor does it offer a reasonable partial debt repayment plan like America’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy process.

In Ireland, people cannot use bankruptcy as a meaningful tool to deal with their debts. Irish debtors are vulnerable to constant lawsuits, harassment and garnishments because the Irish bankruptcy process is so strict and inflexible.

Should you file bankruptcy in Ireland, you are forced to repay creditors for at least twelve years, and only then if your creditors agree by a majority vote that such a “short” period of twelve years is reasonable, and that the amount you propose to repay is reasonable. Even worse, once you start a bankruptcy in Ireland, you cannot get out of the bankruptcy nor end it until your creditors agree by a vote that you should be allowed to exit the Irish bankruptcy system. Irish debtors have been known to be required to stay in bankruptcy, repaying their creditors, for as long as 29 years.

Reform legislation is pending in Ireland, but even the proposed law changes in Ireland are worse than what American bankruptcy law provides for its citizens today. The new Irish proposals still have no “fresh start” like America’s Chapter 7. The new Irish proposals suggest that debtors be forced to remain in bankruptcy for at least six years, repaying substantial portions of income to creditors, in what might be called an “earned start”.

“Current Irish bankruptcy laws misunderstand the nature of debt in [Ireland]. They’re designed to protect the general public from Dickensian villains who won’t pay their debts, not designed to facilitate the desperate thousands who can’t.” writes Patrick Freyne in “The Irish Times”. “It was a case of saying ‘listen, let’s make him bankrupt and don’t let him into business [for at least 12 years while he repays his debts] so others don’t lose money.’ But 90 per cent of those in trouble are honest decent people who lost money through no fault of their own.” says Irish chartered accountant Jim Stafford.

Many people are no less in debt in Ireland than are many Americans. Irish consumers had very little consumer debt in the 1980s, but this changed dramatically through the 1990s and into the 2000s. Many families and small businesses in Ireland now face the same level of debts as do struggling American families, as they have borrowed against (now disappearing) home equity and taken advantage of easy-to-obtain consumer credit such as vehicle loans and credit card loans.

Read about the Irish personal debt crisis and the historical reasons why Irish bankruptcy law is so strict and difficult.

Ideas for action: Accept the gift of what the US Government has declared available, which is a “fresh start” in Chapter 7, or a much gentler partial debt repayment in Chapter 13. While you are at it, thank God for the US of A.