Personal bankruptcies have exploded in the last several years, raising serious questions about our economy and the bankruptcy code. Is this dramatic growth a result of mushrooming debt--or does it reflect a moral decline that permits the middle class to evade their debts? As We Forgive Our Debtors addresses these questions with data gathered in the largest empirical study of consumer bankruptcy ever done in this country. The authors of this landmark work describe the law and the...
More DescriptionPersonal bankruptcies have exploded in the last several years, raising serious questions about our economy and the bankruptcy code. Is this dramatic growth a result of mushrooming debt--or does it reflect a moral decline that permits the middle class to evade their debts? As We Forgive Our Debtors addresses these questions with data gathered in the largest empirical study of consumer bankruptcy ever done in this country. The authors of this landmark work describe the law and the statistics in clear, nontechnical language, combining a thorough statistical description of the social and economic position of consumer bankrupts with human portraits of the debtors and creditors whose journey has ended in bankruptcy court. With separate chapters on the specific problems of groups such as women, homeowners, and small businesses, this book provides some surprising answers to the questions behind the bankruptcy boom.