As the number of Americans filing bankruptcy reaches an all time high there has been a rise in the faux “moral outrage” against bankruptcy. Many so called debt repayment “gurus” are thumbing down their collective noses at bankruptcy and the debtors who rely on bankruptcy to get a fresh financial start. Many of these “gurus” seem to be on a witch hunt for spendthrifts who are using bankruptcy to escape personal responsibility for their debts. But the truth is that the vast majority of Americas who file bankruptcy do so because they have a genuine need for debt relief due to know fault of their own. More than 60 percent of the people who file bankruptcy are doing so because they are struggling under the weight of a gargantuan amount of medical debt. Many others are faced with foreclosures due to toxic mortgages that are drowning them and their families. And yes there are a small percentage of bankruptcy filers who have sought bankruptcy protection because of their own foolish money mistakes but even they deserve a second chance. The act of filing bankruptcy alone is recognition that there is a problem. And the bankruptcy system is setup in a manner that people must go through debt and money management courses before they receive a bankruptcy discharge. So why are bankruptcy filers under the microscope of these morally outraged “gurus”? Where is their moral outrage about the numerous large corporations who file bankruptcy? Of course we will not hear criticism leveled against corporations such as GM and Chrysler, it is just too easy to pick on the ordinary guy who uses bankruptcy to get on his feet after suffering job losses, foreclosures and other catastrophes.
