Too busted to go bankrupt

This year, up to 1 million broke Americans are expected to be too financially destitute to file for bankruptcy, reports cnn:

The average cost to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the most common form of consumer bankruptcy, is more than $1,500, according to recent research submitted to the National Bureau of Economic Research.As a result, anywhere between 200,000 and 1 million consumers are estimated to be unable to afford that steep cost this year. …That means many of the Americans who have seen their debt snowball out of control due to events like job loss, foreclosure or a medical emergency during the economic downturn are now left without their last financial lifeline ….

But in case you are thinking about saving by skipping the expensive attorney fees, cnn warns:

And think twice before you decide to go it alone, said Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education for Credit.com.”It’s too complicated now, and too much of a minefield. Make a mistake and your case is dismissed,” she said. “A dismissed bankruptcy hurts your credit just as badly as one you complete. So you have all the downside without the fresh start.”

What a sad state. People are too broke to go broke. It is a sign that America’s economy is getting worse, not better. But here is the real warning.

“It becomes harder and harder to pay off the debt as interest payments get higher, so your debt grows larger and larger,” says Jialan Wang, co-author of the report.

Somebody alert Washington! At last count, $15.2 trillion. Rising at more than $1 trillion per year. And that is at record-low interest rates. What will happen when rates rise? And don’t even contemplate the attorney fees on that one.

Why isn’t Ben Bernanke more worried? Why isn’t he demanding that politicians reduce the nation’s debt?

Because America has a technology called the printing press that can create infinite amounts of “money” at essentially no cost. It’s impossible for America to go bankrupt. But if you believe that, I have some beautiful ocean-front real estate here in Oklahoma that I will sell real cheap. Read “The Real Plan to Pay Off the Debt” to see what Bernanke’s printing press means for your financial future.