By: Christy Bieber
From: The Motley Fool
https://www.fool.com/student-loans/paid-off-student-loans-early/
Friday, January 31, 2020
I Paid Off My Student Loans Early, and I Regret It
From: The Motley Fool
https://www.fool.com/student-loans/paid-off-student-loans-early/
Thursday, January 30, 2020
How Uber and Lyft doomed NYC's yellow cab business - New York Daily News
Driving NYC taxis out of business: How Uber and Lyft doomed the once-solid yellow cab industry
By: Clayton Guse
From: nydailynews.com
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-medallion-foreclosures-taxi-bailout-plan-uber-lyft-20200130-s2mjkhjubzgptdxasoxddwdote-story.html
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Myth Busted: Turns Out Bankruptcy Can Wipe Out Student Loan Debt After All
From: wamc.org
By: Chris Arnold
https://www.wamc.org/post/myth-busted-turns-out-bankruptcy-can-wipe-out-student-loan-debt-after-all
By: Chris Arnold
https://www.wamc.org/post/myth-busted-turns-out-bankruptcy-can-wipe-out-student-loan-debt-after-all
Originally published on January 22, 2020 9:31 am
A
few years ago, Lauren had a big problem. The Queens, N.Y., resident had
graduated from college with an art degree as the Great Recession had
hit. She had private student loans with high interest rates. For work,
all she could find were retail jobs. And by 2016, her loans had
ballooned to about $200,000.
" 'I can't afford to actually pay my bills and eat and pay my rent,' " she remembers thinking. "I was financially handicapped. I mean, my student loan payments were higher than my rent was."
So Lauren started to look into bankruptcy. She doesn't want her last name used because she thinks all this might hurt her job prospects.
Over the years, a myth has taken hold that you can't get student debt reduced or wiped out through bankruptcy. But many bankruptcy judges and legal scholars say that's wrong. And bankruptcy can be a way to get help.
Bankruptcy is not fun. Your credit gets destroyed for years, and you have to be in pretty dire financial straits for it to make sense. But if you reach that point, you can get your debts reduced or erased through bankruptcy so you can get back on your feet.
But the lawyers Lauren called said that with student loans it's different because there are special rules for student debt.
"They had told me things like you have to have a disability where you're not able to even work," she says. "And I was like, 'Well, but that doesn't make any sense.' "
Jason Iuliano, a Villanova University law professor, says that over the past 30 years, Congress has made it harder to discharge student debt. You need to meet what's called an "undue hardship" standard. That also means more work for your lawyer.
But Iuliano says that this has created the misconception that it's nearly impossible to get help for student debt through bankruptcy. That's not true.
Iuliano did some research and says a quarter-million student loan debtors file for bankruptcy each year. They do that because they have credit card debt or other debts and they can get those reduced or erased.
But when it comes to trying to get their student debt forgiven, "more than 99% of the student loan debtors in bankruptcy just give up without even trying," Iuliano says. "It struck me as a really surprising statistic when I first uncovered it."
For those who do try, though, Iuliano's research finds that about half the time the person gets some or all of the student loan debt erased. One study he did found that they got help through bankruptcy about 40% of the time. And he says more recent data from this past year show that figure rising to more than 50% of the time.
"So I think that's really important for bankruptcy attorneys to see that there are judges out there who are willing to grant undue-hardship discharges and that people are much more likely to obtain relief in bankruptcy for their student loan debt," Iuliano says.
Just this month, a federal judge in New York discharged more than $220,000 in student loans for a borrower. In her ruling, Chief Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris criticized the fact that even many lawyers "believe it impossible to discharge student loans." She added, "This Court will not participate in perpetuating these myths."
Robert Lawless, a law professor at the University of Illinois, says, "I think we're reaching a tipping point with what the bankruptcy courts are doing." He says he hopes more people are able to get help through bankruptcy.
But he says the rules are still too restrictive. Lawless researched the issue with a group of attorneys and former judges for the American Bankruptcy Institute, a professional organization. They're recommending that Congress rewrite the rules on student loans in bankruptcy. Under the proposal, Lawless says, "after seven years from when the loans became due, they would be treated pretty much like any other debt in a bankruptcy case."
There is at least some support for that in Congress. Part of the obstacle now is that the current rules often require paying your lawyer more money to attempt to get student debt forgiven.
Lawless says it costs on average about $1,200 to file a typical Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy attorneys say it can cost thousands of dollars more to pay your lawyer to jump through the extra hoops related to student loan debt, unless you find one who will do that for a reduced rate.
Iuliano says the outcome and how much student debt is forgiven, if any, can have a lot to do with what particular judge you end up with and what the rules are in that bankruptcy district.
Some of that is because of the language of the original statute stating that student loan borrowers have to meet a threshold of "undue hardship," he says. Iuliano says Congress has never defined what that means, so a lot of discretion is left up to the courts and the particular judge you get.
Harrison Wadsworth, a consultant for the Consumer Bankers Association, notes that most student loans are issued by the government. But for loans from private lenders, he says relaxing the bankruptcy rules to make it easier to reduce or eliminate student debt could push up interest rates. "Lenders would have to be careful about making loans and probably have to charge more for them," Wadsworth says.
Lauren eventually found a lawyer who took her case and charged her about $3,000, doing some of the work pro bono. And going through bankruptcy, she got her debt reduced from about $200,000 to around $100,000, with the bulk of that reduced to a 1% interest rate.
"It's still a lot of money," she says. But she says, "I was extremely relieved."
Lauren says it is significantly less than she owed before. And she says the payments are manageable.
"And because they lowered the interest, I'm actually paying off the loan," she says. So she says she can recover financially, which Lawless says is what bankruptcy is there for.
Many Americans who get overwhelmed by student loan debt are told bankruptcy is not an option for them because you can't get student debt reduced or wiped out through bankruptcy. Well, now more judges and legal scholars are saying that's a myth, and bankruptcy can be a way to help. Some advocates want Congress to act to change the laws so student debt is treated the same as any other kind of debt. Here's more from NPR's Chris Arnold.
CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: A few years ago, Lauren (ph), who lives in Queens, N.Y., had a big problem. She graduated college with an art degree just as the Great Recession hit. She had private student loans with very high interest rates. For work, all she could find were retail jobs. And by 2016, her loans had ballooned to about $200,000. She remembers thinking...
LAUREN: I can't afford to actually pay my bills and eat and pay my rent. Basically, I was financially handicapped. I mean, my student loan payments were higher than my rent was.
ARNOLD: So Lauren started to look into bankruptcy. She doesn't want to use her last name because she thinks all this might hurt her job prospects.
Now, bankruptcy is not fun. Your credit gets destroyed for years, and you have to be in pretty dire financial straits for it to even make sense, but you can get your debts reduced or erased so that you can survive and get back on your feet. But the lawyers that Lauren called said, look; basically, with student loans, it's different.
LAUREN: They had told me things like you have to have a disability where you're not able to even work. And I was like, well, but that doesn't make any sense.
ARNOLD: Many bankruptcy judges and legal scholars agree. Jason Iuliano is a law professor at Villanova University. He says over the past 30 years, Congress has made it harder to discharge student debt. You need to meet what's called an undue hardship standard. That also means more work for your lawyer. But he says that's created this misperception that it's nearly impossible to get help for student loan debt through bankruptcy. Iuliano did some research, and...
JASON IULIANO: What struck me as a really surprising statistic when I first uncovered it - there is a quarter of a million student loan debtors who file bankruptcy each year.
ARNOLD: They do that because they have credit card debt or other debts, and they can get those reduced or erased. But trying to get their student debt forgiven...
IULIANO: More than 99% of the student loan debtors in bankruptcy just give up without even trying.
ARNOLD: But he's also found that when people do try and they pay a lawyer to jump through the extra hoops, about half the time, the person gets some or all of their student loan debt erased.
IULIANO: So I think that's really important for bankruptcy attorneys to see that there are judges out there who are willing to grant undue hardship discharges and that people are much more likely to obtain relief in bankruptcy for their student loan debt.
ARNOLD: Just this month, a judge in New York discharged $220,000 in student loan debt for a borrower. And in her ruling, she criticized the fact that even many lawyers, quote, "believe it impossible to discharge student loans." She added, quote, "this court will not participate in perpetuating these myths."
ROBERT LAWLESS: Well, I think we're reaching a tipping point with what the bankruptcy courts are doing.
ARNOLD: That's Robert Lawless, a law professor at the University of Illinois. He hopes that more people are able to get help through bankruptcy, but he says the rules are still too restrictive. He took part in research on the issue for the professional organization the American Bankruptcy Institute, which recommends...
LAWLESS: That Congress rewrite the rules on student loans and bankruptcy and make it so after seven years from when the loans became due, they would be treated pretty much like any other debt in a bankruptcy case.
ARNOLD: There is at least some support for that in Congress.
Harrison Wadsworth is a consultant for the Consumer Bankers Association. He says most student loans are issued by the government these days, but for loans from private lenders, loosening the rules could push up interest rates.
HARRISON WADSWORTH: Lenders have to be more careful about making loans and probably have to charge more for them.
ARNOLD: In Lauren's case, she eventually found a lawyer and, going through bankruptcy, she got her debt reduced from around $200,000 down to around $100,000, and the bulk of that at a 1% interest rate.
LAUREN: It's still a lot of money (laughter).
ARNOLD: Yeah.
LAUREN: Yeah. So for me, like, I was extremely relieved. It is significantly less, and I'm actually able to, like, make the payment. And because they lowered the interest, I'm actually paying off the loan.
ARNOLD: So Lauren says she can recover financially, which, Lawless says, is what bankruptcy is there for.
Chris Arnold, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
" 'I can't afford to actually pay my bills and eat and pay my rent,' " she remembers thinking. "I was financially handicapped. I mean, my student loan payments were higher than my rent was."
So Lauren started to look into bankruptcy. She doesn't want her last name used because she thinks all this might hurt her job prospects.
Over the years, a myth has taken hold that you can't get student debt reduced or wiped out through bankruptcy. But many bankruptcy judges and legal scholars say that's wrong. And bankruptcy can be a way to get help.
Bankruptcy is not fun. Your credit gets destroyed for years, and you have to be in pretty dire financial straits for it to make sense. But if you reach that point, you can get your debts reduced or erased through bankruptcy so you can get back on your feet.
But the lawyers Lauren called said that with student loans it's different because there are special rules for student debt.
"They had told me things like you have to have a disability where you're not able to even work," she says. "And I was like, 'Well, but that doesn't make any sense.' "
Jason Iuliano, a Villanova University law professor, says that over the past 30 years, Congress has made it harder to discharge student debt. You need to meet what's called an "undue hardship" standard. That also means more work for your lawyer.
But Iuliano says that this has created the misconception that it's nearly impossible to get help for student debt through bankruptcy. That's not true.
Iuliano did some research and says a quarter-million student loan debtors file for bankruptcy each year. They do that because they have credit card debt or other debts and they can get those reduced or erased.
But when it comes to trying to get their student debt forgiven, "more than 99% of the student loan debtors in bankruptcy just give up without even trying," Iuliano says. "It struck me as a really surprising statistic when I first uncovered it."
For those who do try, though, Iuliano's research finds that about half the time the person gets some or all of the student loan debt erased. One study he did found that they got help through bankruptcy about 40% of the time. And he says more recent data from this past year show that figure rising to more than 50% of the time.
"So I think that's really important for bankruptcy attorneys to see that there are judges out there who are willing to grant undue-hardship discharges and that people are much more likely to obtain relief in bankruptcy for their student loan debt," Iuliano says.
Just this month, a federal judge in New York discharged more than $220,000 in student loans for a borrower. In her ruling, Chief Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris criticized the fact that even many lawyers "believe it impossible to discharge student loans." She added, "This Court will not participate in perpetuating these myths."
Robert Lawless, a law professor at the University of Illinois, says, "I think we're reaching a tipping point with what the bankruptcy courts are doing." He says he hopes more people are able to get help through bankruptcy.
But he says the rules are still too restrictive. Lawless researched the issue with a group of attorneys and former judges for the American Bankruptcy Institute, a professional organization. They're recommending that Congress rewrite the rules on student loans in bankruptcy. Under the proposal, Lawless says, "after seven years from when the loans became due, they would be treated pretty much like any other debt in a bankruptcy case."
There is at least some support for that in Congress. Part of the obstacle now is that the current rules often require paying your lawyer more money to attempt to get student debt forgiven.
Lawless says it costs on average about $1,200 to file a typical Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy attorneys say it can cost thousands of dollars more to pay your lawyer to jump through the extra hoops related to student loan debt, unless you find one who will do that for a reduced rate.
Iuliano says the outcome and how much student debt is forgiven, if any, can have a lot to do with what particular judge you end up with and what the rules are in that bankruptcy district.
Some of that is because of the language of the original statute stating that student loan borrowers have to meet a threshold of "undue hardship," he says. Iuliano says Congress has never defined what that means, so a lot of discretion is left up to the courts and the particular judge you get.
Harrison Wadsworth, a consultant for the Consumer Bankers Association, notes that most student loans are issued by the government. But for loans from private lenders, he says relaxing the bankruptcy rules to make it easier to reduce or eliminate student debt could push up interest rates. "Lenders would have to be careful about making loans and probably have to charge more for them," Wadsworth says.
Lauren eventually found a lawyer who took her case and charged her about $3,000, doing some of the work pro bono. And going through bankruptcy, she got her debt reduced from about $200,000 to around $100,000, with the bulk of that reduced to a 1% interest rate.
"It's still a lot of money," she says. But she says, "I was extremely relieved."
Lauren says it is significantly less than she owed before. And she says the payments are manageable.
"And because they lowered the interest, I'm actually paying off the loan," she says. So she says she can recover financially, which Lawless says is what bankruptcy is there for.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.9(MDAyMjA1NDY4MDEyOTc4NzE4OTRmNjhkZg001))
DAVID GREENE, HOST: Many Americans who get overwhelmed by student loan debt are told bankruptcy is not an option for them because you can't get student debt reduced or wiped out through bankruptcy. Well, now more judges and legal scholars are saying that's a myth, and bankruptcy can be a way to help. Some advocates want Congress to act to change the laws so student debt is treated the same as any other kind of debt. Here's more from NPR's Chris Arnold.
CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: A few years ago, Lauren (ph), who lives in Queens, N.Y., had a big problem. She graduated college with an art degree just as the Great Recession hit. She had private student loans with very high interest rates. For work, all she could find were retail jobs. And by 2016, her loans had ballooned to about $200,000. She remembers thinking...
LAUREN: I can't afford to actually pay my bills and eat and pay my rent. Basically, I was financially handicapped. I mean, my student loan payments were higher than my rent was.
ARNOLD: So Lauren started to look into bankruptcy. She doesn't want to use her last name because she thinks all this might hurt her job prospects.
Now, bankruptcy is not fun. Your credit gets destroyed for years, and you have to be in pretty dire financial straits for it to even make sense, but you can get your debts reduced or erased so that you can survive and get back on your feet. But the lawyers that Lauren called said, look; basically, with student loans, it's different.
LAUREN: They had told me things like you have to have a disability where you're not able to even work. And I was like, well, but that doesn't make any sense.
ARNOLD: Many bankruptcy judges and legal scholars agree. Jason Iuliano is a law professor at Villanova University. He says over the past 30 years, Congress has made it harder to discharge student debt. You need to meet what's called an undue hardship standard. That also means more work for your lawyer. But he says that's created this misperception that it's nearly impossible to get help for student loan debt through bankruptcy. Iuliano did some research, and...
JASON IULIANO: What struck me as a really surprising statistic when I first uncovered it - there is a quarter of a million student loan debtors who file bankruptcy each year.
ARNOLD: They do that because they have credit card debt or other debts, and they can get those reduced or erased. But trying to get their student debt forgiven...
IULIANO: More than 99% of the student loan debtors in bankruptcy just give up without even trying.
ARNOLD: But he's also found that when people do try and they pay a lawyer to jump through the extra hoops, about half the time, the person gets some or all of their student loan debt erased.
IULIANO: So I think that's really important for bankruptcy attorneys to see that there are judges out there who are willing to grant undue hardship discharges and that people are much more likely to obtain relief in bankruptcy for their student loan debt.
ARNOLD: Just this month, a judge in New York discharged $220,000 in student loan debt for a borrower. And in her ruling, she criticized the fact that even many lawyers, quote, "believe it impossible to discharge student loans." She added, quote, "this court will not participate in perpetuating these myths."
ROBERT LAWLESS: Well, I think we're reaching a tipping point with what the bankruptcy courts are doing.
ARNOLD: That's Robert Lawless, a law professor at the University of Illinois. He hopes that more people are able to get help through bankruptcy, but he says the rules are still too restrictive. He took part in research on the issue for the professional organization the American Bankruptcy Institute, which recommends...
LAWLESS: That Congress rewrite the rules on student loans and bankruptcy and make it so after seven years from when the loans became due, they would be treated pretty much like any other debt in a bankruptcy case.
ARNOLD: There is at least some support for that in Congress.
Harrison Wadsworth is a consultant for the Consumer Bankers Association. He says most student loans are issued by the government these days, but for loans from private lenders, loosening the rules could push up interest rates.
HARRISON WADSWORTH: Lenders have to be more careful about making loans and probably have to charge more for them.
ARNOLD: In Lauren's case, she eventually found a lawyer and, going through bankruptcy, she got her debt reduced from around $200,000 down to around $100,000, and the bulk of that at a 1% interest rate.
LAUREN: It's still a lot of money (laughter).
ARNOLD: Yeah.
LAUREN: Yeah. So for me, like, I was extremely relieved. It is significantly less, and I'm actually able to, like, make the payment. And because they lowered the interest, I'm actually paying off the loan.
ARNOLD: So Lauren says she can recover financially, which, Lawless says, is what bankruptcy is there for.
Chris Arnold, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Organizing at Work
This week we heard from Dan Loya at Spaces Transformed. Dan gave a talk and a couple of comments that I had on this important topic are below:
1. Dan did not mention this app for note taking, but many experts, tech people and tech websites state that “Google Keep” is the best note taking app. I have used this app for about five years and I'm extremely happy with it and I would suggest that everyone in the group try it. It is free, easy to use and learn, is available for Android, Apple and on your Windows computer and it syncs instantly to all of your devices
2 For my To Do list, I have probably tried 10 apps over the years and have stopped using them after two to three weeks. I believe that the best note taking app is an eight and ½ by 11 legal pad or a 4 by 6 legal pad. What are the benefits of a pen and paper? We all know how to read and write, you can use different ink colors and you can highlight your to-do list, throw it out when it is completed and. it is also a multi-platform device in that you can take it home at night or on the weekend by throwing it in your back. I have found that I need to 2 to-do lists, one for my personal use and one for work.
3. Organizing your emails. I would suggest the following approach using Outlook 365. Outlook 365 contain something called “Categories” at the ribbon at the top of the program, and categories allows you to color code your emails. As my emails come in, I color them purple- high priority work matters, red-for work matters, yellow- for personal, orange for higher-level personal, blue for an item that needs to be purchased, green for billing, accounts receivable and money related issues and brown for work matters. Categories also allows you to use two colors and in my system I use “purple red” for urgent client related work matters and they get my highest priority. The beauty of this system is that it organizes your emails by category and by need and it allows you to direct your time and focus to your highest priority matters, which are in my case purple red.
Before I take a break, after I come back from a meeting or Court and before I leave to go home I always try and make sure that my “Purple Red” emails are addressed.
The system is easy to use, free and very intuitive!
Finally, every 7 to 10 days, I try to achieve something called “Inbox Zero” and then I put a smile on my face. Inbox Zero means that I delete every email that is still in my Inbox and then smile because I have uncluttered my emails and simplified my work space.
This approach forces me to evaluate every email as it comes into my In Box, I either act on the email, color code it for later use or delete it. Give this approach a try it works. Jim Shenwick jshenwick@gmail.com
1. Dan did not mention this app for note taking, but many experts, tech people and tech websites state that “Google Keep” is the best note taking app. I have used this app for about five years and I'm extremely happy with it and I would suggest that everyone in the group try it. It is free, easy to use and learn, is available for Android, Apple and on your Windows computer and it syncs instantly to all of your devices
2 For my To Do list, I have probably tried 10 apps over the years and have stopped using them after two to three weeks. I believe that the best note taking app is an eight and ½ by 11 legal pad or a 4 by 6 legal pad. What are the benefits of a pen and paper? We all know how to read and write, you can use different ink colors and you can highlight your to-do list, throw it out when it is completed and. it is also a multi-platform device in that you can take it home at night or on the weekend by throwing it in your back. I have found that I need to 2 to-do lists, one for my personal use and one for work.
3. Organizing your emails. I would suggest the following approach using Outlook 365. Outlook 365 contain something called “Categories” at the ribbon at the top of the program, and categories allows you to color code your emails. As my emails come in, I color them purple- high priority work matters, red-for work matters, yellow- for personal, orange for higher-level personal, blue for an item that needs to be purchased, green for billing, accounts receivable and money related issues and brown for work matters. Categories also allows you to use two colors and in my system I use “purple red” for urgent client related work matters and they get my highest priority. The beauty of this system is that it organizes your emails by category and by need and it allows you to direct your time and focus to your highest priority matters, which are in my case purple red.
Before I take a break, after I come back from a meeting or Court and before I leave to go home I always try and make sure that my “Purple Red” emails are addressed.
The system is easy to use, free and very intuitive!
Finally, every 7 to 10 days, I try to achieve something called “Inbox Zero” and then I put a smile on my face. Inbox Zero means that I delete every email that is still in my Inbox and then smile because I have uncluttered my emails and simplified my work space.
This approach forces me to evaluate every email as it comes into my In Box, I either act on the email, color code it for later use or delete it. Give this approach a try it works. Jim Shenwick jshenwick@gmail.com
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Bailout Up to $500 Million Proposed for Taxi Drivers Trapped in Loans New York Times 1/16/20
Bailout Up to $500 Million Proposed for Taxi Drivers Trapped in Loans
The proposal is the most far-reaching step taken in response to a Times investigation into exploitative practices in the industry.
New York Times Article
Bailout Up to $500 Million Proposed for Taxi Drivers
A high-level New York City panel appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials intends to propose a bailout for thousands of taxi drivers trapped in exploitative loans that could cost as much as $500 million, several panel members said this week.
The panel, which has been meeting regularly since last summer, wants a new public-private partnership to essentially absorb much of the debt that the drivers took on in recent years in order to buy medallions, the city-issued permits that let them own cabs. Many of the medallions were sold at artificially inflated prices by industry leaders who brought about one of the biggest speculative loan bubbles since the American financial crisis.
The drivers, nearly all of whom are immigrants, were channeled into reckless loans totaling billions of dollars, leaving many bankrupt and struggling to survive.
The proposal would call for the partnership to buy medallion loans at discounted prices and ease the burden on borrowers by forgiving much of the debt and lowering interest payments, panel members said.
Officials cautioned that they were still working out the details of the proposal. Mr. de Blasio has not indicated whether he would support it. In the past, he has expressed skepticism about a city-funded bailout. His office said this week it would review the panel’s recommendations after they are finalized.
Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker, who appointed most of the panel’s members, said on Wednesday that its emerging plan was an important milestone, an indication that he was open to spending a significant amount of city money to help drivers.
“We know that folks in this industry have suffered tremendously,” Mr. Johnson said. “I’m really excited that after six months of painstaking work and effort, the task force is going to be releasing a variety of recommendations that we think could stabilize the industry, plan for the future and help alleviate the suffering.”
Some panel members said the partnership would aim to raise up to $500 million, while others, including leaders of the City Council, said the numbers were still being finalized and the report would not list any amounts. The city might have to contribute a portion of the total, but most of the money would come from private donors. Investors could receive incentives for contributing to the fund and would earn a return on the loans.
The 19-member panel, which is headed by two powerful members of the Council, is set to release a report with the proposal this month.
Even with the mayor’s backing, organizers would have to raise money and convince lenders to sell loans. One issue is that the National Credit Union Administration, a federal agency that is now the largest holder of taxi medallion loans, is already considering selling off its loans to for-profit debt collectors and others who are unlikely to give borrowers a break.
Bhairavi Desai, founder of the Taxi Workers Alliance, a group of drivers, who is on the panel, expressed confidence in the plan.
“This is the most optimistic I have ever felt about solving this crisis,” said Ms. Desai, adding that several donors have already expressed interest.
“We’re going to win,” she said.
The proposal would be the most far-reaching step taken so far in response to a New York Times investigation that revealed more than a decade of exploitative practices in the industry.
The Times found that a group of industry leaders artificially inflated the price of a medallion to more than $1 million from about $200,000, channeled immigrant drivers into reckless loans to purchase medallions and extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the bubble burst.
The practices set off a crisis that has been intensified by the arrival of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. The new apps have reduced the revenue that yellow cabs receive, but virtually all of the hundreds of industry veterans interviewed by The Times said the bubble would have burst even if ride-hailing had never been invented.
Taxi industry leaders have denied wrongdoing, describing their tactics as normal business practices and noting that regulators approved their methods. They have blamed the industry’s financial crisis exclusively on Uber and Lyft.
The proposal is the most far-reaching step taken in response to a Times investigation into exploitative practices in the industry.
New York Times Article
Bailout Up to $500 Million Proposed for Taxi Drivers
A high-level New York City panel appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials intends to propose a bailout for thousands of taxi drivers trapped in exploitative loans that could cost as much as $500 million, several panel members said this week.
The panel, which has been meeting regularly since last summer, wants a new public-private partnership to essentially absorb much of the debt that the drivers took on in recent years in order to buy medallions, the city-issued permits that let them own cabs. Many of the medallions were sold at artificially inflated prices by industry leaders who brought about one of the biggest speculative loan bubbles since the American financial crisis.
The drivers, nearly all of whom are immigrants, were channeled into reckless loans totaling billions of dollars, leaving many bankrupt and struggling to survive.
The proposal would call for the partnership to buy medallion loans at discounted prices and ease the burden on borrowers by forgiving much of the debt and lowering interest payments, panel members said.
Officials cautioned that they were still working out the details of the proposal. Mr. de Blasio has not indicated whether he would support it. In the past, he has expressed skepticism about a city-funded bailout. His office said this week it would review the panel’s recommendations after they are finalized.
Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker, who appointed most of the panel’s members, said on Wednesday that its emerging plan was an important milestone, an indication that he was open to spending a significant amount of city money to help drivers.
“We know that folks in this industry have suffered tremendously,” Mr. Johnson said. “I’m really excited that after six months of painstaking work and effort, the task force is going to be releasing a variety of recommendations that we think could stabilize the industry, plan for the future and help alleviate the suffering.”
Some panel members said the partnership would aim to raise up to $500 million, while others, including leaders of the City Council, said the numbers were still being finalized and the report would not list any amounts. The city might have to contribute a portion of the total, but most of the money would come from private donors. Investors could receive incentives for contributing to the fund and would earn a return on the loans.
The 19-member panel, which is headed by two powerful members of the Council, is set to release a report with the proposal this month.
Even with the mayor’s backing, organizers would have to raise money and convince lenders to sell loans. One issue is that the National Credit Union Administration, a federal agency that is now the largest holder of taxi medallion loans, is already considering selling off its loans to for-profit debt collectors and others who are unlikely to give borrowers a break.
Bhairavi Desai, founder of the Taxi Workers Alliance, a group of drivers, who is on the panel, expressed confidence in the plan.
“This is the most optimistic I have ever felt about solving this crisis,” said Ms. Desai, adding that several donors have already expressed interest.
“We’re going to win,” she said.
The proposal would be the most far-reaching step taken so far in response to a New York Times investigation that revealed more than a decade of exploitative practices in the industry.
The Times found that a group of industry leaders artificially inflated the price of a medallion to more than $1 million from about $200,000, channeled immigrant drivers into reckless loans to purchase medallions and extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the bubble burst.
The practices set off a crisis that has been intensified by the arrival of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. The new apps have reduced the revenue that yellow cabs receive, but virtually all of the hundreds of industry veterans interviewed by The Times said the bubble would have burst even if ride-hailing had never been invented.
Taxi industry leaders have denied wrongdoing, describing their tactics as normal business practices and noting that regulators approved their methods. They have blamed the industry’s financial crisis exclusively on Uber and Lyft.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Negotiations a Primer
Negotiations a Primer
As many of our clients and colleagues know, at Shenwick &
Associates we do a lot of negotiating and to date we have had many successes.
First, client’s ask what is an “out-of-court” settlement? An
out-of-court settlement is a settlement that is obtained without Court intervention
and without the use of a mediator or an arbitrator. Simply stated, an
out-of-court workout is a negotiation between a party that owes money ( a
debtor) and a party who is owed money ( a creditor). The benefit of an
out-of-court negotiation is that they can be cheaper, quicker and more
effective than litigation, mediation or arbitration.
People often ask what is the secret of our success or the “secret
sauce”?
Provided below is a “blueprint” that we use in
negotiating.
- Preparation,
preparation and more preparation! Many attorneys believe that since they
do not need to draft a motion or file a legal brief, in a negotiation, all
they need to do is pick up the phone and call their adversary and begin
talking. Experience has taught us that nothing could be further from the
truth. Prior to commencing a negotiation, a lawyer should engage in
extensive fact gathering or due diligence, gathering as much information
as they can from various sources about their adversary, counsel for their
adversary and the nature of the conflict.
For example, is the dispute related to a divorce where inflicting
pain is more important than the dollars involved in the case? Does the dispute
involve former partners one or both who may feel that a trust was breached as
well as money being owed?
If you skip the preparation step you are shortchanging your
client and undermining your chance of success in the negotiation. At
Shenwick & Associates we have developed a “negotiation worksheet” which we
complete before we commence any negotiation.
Additionally, during the preparation step an attorney should
formulate their strategy or tactics for the negotiation.
2.
Before we pick up the phone and call our adversary to begin the
negotiation, we also review our client’s assets and liabilities and we engage
in asset protection planning, to the extent possible (consistent with the law).
Very simply we want to make sure that the client’s property and assets are
protected as much as possible from creditor collection actions if the
negotiations fail.
3.
We also advise our client that in every negotiation there are two
adversaries, our opponent and the “clock”. Timing is crucial in many
negotiations and the pace and timing of a negotiation can often affect the
outcome or be the difference between success or failure.
If a client is anxious for a negotiation to be concluded
quickly, oftentimes they will concede points and end up on the losing side of a
negotiation, rather than allowing a professional to determine the pace of the
negotiations. For example, does the negotiation involves a foreclosure (with a
fixed day for the judgment of foreclosure), or is it a garden-variety
debtor-creditor dispute where litigation has not yet been commenced and
there are no deadlines pending?
4.
We then commence the negotiation and negotiate aggressively on our
client's behalf. As an experienced bankruptcy attorney (having filed hundreds
of cases), we will often advise our adversary that if there is no settlement,
our client will consider a bankruptcy filing and we will advise our adversary
on what their likely recovery will be if a bankruptcy case is filed. This
factor alone can often times affect the outcome of a negotiation.
5.
Also remember to consider the tax consequences of a settlement and
specifically section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code. “Relief of
indebtedness” income can be taxable income and that issue must be discussed
with the client and factored into the settlement. James Shenwick, Esq. has an
LLM in Taxation from New York University Law School and is very familiar with
this issue.
Finally, while there is no guarantee of success, our 20 plus years
of negotiating for clients has shown that using the above “blueprint” will often
result in a successful outcome for a client. Client’s or attorneys who have
questions about negotiations or negotiation strategy are welcome to contact Jim
Shenwick at 212-541-6224 or jshenwick@gmail.com
Friday, January 10, 2020
Student Loan Discharge may have just gotten easier based in Judge Morris decision in Southern District of New York
This Man Got $221,000 Of Student Loans Discharged In Bankruptcy
Can you now discharge your student loans in bankruptcy?
Here’s what you need to know.
Student Loans: Bankruptcy
A Navy veteran will have $220,000 of his student loans discharged, even though he is not unemployable, not disabled or wasn’t defrauded. A U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York, Cecilia G. Morris, ruled that Kevin J. Rosenberg will not have to repay his student loan debt because it will impose an undue financial hardship.
According the Wall Street Journal, Rosenberg borrowed $116,500 of student loans between 1993 and 2004 to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a law degree from Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University. He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018 and asked the court last June to discharge his student loan debt, which had grown to $221,400, including interest. At the time of filing, Rosenberg’s annual salary was $37,600, and after living and debt expenses, his monthly net loss was $1,500.
Traditionally, unlike mortgages or credit card debt, student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. There are exceptions, however, namely if certain conditions regarding financial hardship are met.
Today In: Money
The Brunner Test: Financial Hardship
Those conditions are reflected in the Brunner test, which is the legal test in all circuit courts, except the 8th circuit and 1st circuit. The 8th circuit uses a totality of circumstances, which is similar to Brunner, while the 1st circuit has yet to declare a standard.
In plain English, the Brunner standard says:
- the borrower has extenuating circumstances creating a hardship;
- those circumstances are likely to continue for a term of the loan; and
- the borrower has made good faith attempts to repay the loan. (The borrower does not actually have to make payments, but merely attempt to make payments - such as try to find a workable payment plan.)
There are variances across federal districts, but that’s the basic framework. To discharge student loans through bankruptcy, an Adversary Proceeding (a lawsuit within bankruptcy court) must be filed, where a debtor claims that paying the student loan would create an undue hardship for the debtor.
So, Can You Now Discharge Student Loans In Bankruptcy?
This is only one legal ruling. That said, federal judges and Democrat and Republican members of Congress are open to changing the law to make it easier for borrowers to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy. While these tactics may be welcomed by some student loan borrowers, critics may question whether judges should actively try to circumvent the existing law (suggesting that Congress, and not judges, should make the law).
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Saturday, January 04, 2020
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