Since 1950, when the most popular television show in the United States was Texaco Star Theater and Congress established a mechanism for a municipal bankruptcy, there have been fewer than 500 Chapter 9 filings. In the last three months, and in California alone, there have already been three: Stockton, San Bernardino, and Mammoth Lakes. Fresno may be next.
If cities in California are having problems meeting their obligations, it is no surprise that American families are facing these same issues. Both cities and families are facing the same financial pressures: declining revenues and high costs. For Fresno and its sister cities, tax revenues are down while fixed costs (such as payroll and pensions) are up. For American families, revenues are down due to unemployment or underemployment or some similar cause, while expenses such as credit card debt and mortgage debt are on the rise.
The situation will probably not improve on its own. Over a third of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. It may be time to behave like Stockton and use the Bankruptcy Code to slay the financial giants that are hounding you. Call the law office of Henley and Henley for your free consultation.
