Ticomaya wrote:Why don't you answer my question about the fairness of these folks waltzing into bankruptcy court and declaring the debt they owed me to be liquidated? Is that fair? Somebody make the case for me that it is fair for these folks to unilaterally discharge the debts they owed me? Cyclops or Kicky, you two are championing these shirkers.... please explain to me why it is the right thing to do to allow them to take food from my children's mouths?
Of course it's fair.
You operate in an economic system which already has bankruptcy laws in place (as a lawyer, you must be aware of them). As such, any transaction in which you engage is predicated on accepting the laws that govern that transaction, including the bankruptcy laws.
If you allow someone to pay for services after those services are rendered, then you are, in effect, extending credit to that person. Consequently, you take the risk that the person will not pay -- either because of bankruptcy or because the person simply skips out on his bill. By extending credit, however, it is
you who willingly undertake this risk. And if you took the risk, you should bear the consequences.
Contending that it's not "fair" that someone erased a debt to you through bankruptcy is merely an attempt to escape the consequences of your own decisions. You consciously and willingly undertook the risk when you extended credit, yet you now want to be relieved of the consequences of that risk once that transaction turns sour. That doesn't sound like a conservative talking,
Tico. I'm sure you'd agree that we shouldn't erect a system that rewards people for evading their responsibilities, so why should we reward creditors who, on occasion, suffer the unfortunate, but completely foreseeable, consequences of their decisions?
My advice: if you want to avoid this situation in the future, DON'T EXTEND CREDIT. Demand payment up front and in advance. Of course, you might find it difficult to do business under these conditions, but, in the end, it's your choice.