As reported by Mark Whitehouse of the Wall Street Journal, millions of out of work Americans may soon have more problems to deal with. According to the article and reports fom the US Labor Department, millions of Americans are about to find themselves without any means of support and will still have to find a way to pay the rent, electric, and other utility bills without any means to do so. Despite claims by major news media outlets and the government that job growth is getting better, the number of unemployed persons who are not receiving any benefits is now over 5 million Americans who are out of work and having a hard time finding work. This is an increase of over 1 million since April 2010.
Many Americans began collecting Unemployment Compensation Benefits in August 2009. The limit on the number of weeks an out of work employee can collect is 99 weeks. Most people can collect up to 99 weeks of benefits in one or more of the following programs: 26 weeks from regular unemployment insurance which is from the State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation Unemployment Compensation Program for Floridians, after that you may be eligible and receive 53 weeks of Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and then another 20 weeks of Federal-State Extended Benefits. However, once the 99 weeks of benefits are gone, there is generally nothing left to fall back on. The end point for those who started receiving benefits in August of 2009 is sometime in June/July 2011. As the date looms near, people may become more desperate to hold on to what they have. Despite losing benefits, the mortgage companies will want to be paid, the credit card and collection agencies will demand payments, and all the while, people's stress levels will increase as their health may start to deteriorate.
And will all the bads news the Florida Legislature made the news worse. On mostly a party line vote, the Republican led Florida Legislature voted to cut the number of weeks an out-of-work Florida may receive unemployment compensation benefits. The Florida Senate passed its bill and the House is now battling over compromises. In the end, however, the residents of Florida will lose. The Legislature now wnats to tie the number of weeks which benefits are available to unemployment rate. The higher the rate, the longer the benefits, the lower the rate of unemployment, the lower the number of weeks of eligibility in the State of Florida. As a professor at the University of Florida once told me, "Anyone can lie with statistics. It just depends on how you look at the numbers." Once the Chamber of Commerce, and similar organizations skew the numbers to lower the unemployment rate, the benefits will be shortened and people will once again have to chose between food and shelter. This may sound drastic and it is!
One answer is simple - Bankruptcy. In most cases, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may be the answer to wipe out the debt and start over. Chapter 13 may be the answer for once-out-of-work people have now found a job. Many people facing a mountain of debt will never be able to re-pay the debt as the credit card companies increase fees, interest rates, and begin to sue to get judgments so they can garnish wages, checking accounts, savings accounts, or seize and sell personal property of debtors in Florida.
If you think Bankruptcy may be the answer for you, call Mark at the Cressman Law Firm today. 407-877-7317. We always offer a free initial consultation to see if Bankruptcy may be the answer for you. Call Today before the credit card companies take what little benefits you may have left by garnishing your checking and savings accounts.
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