The Miami Herald weighs in to the Coral Gables Commission Group 4 race with Past finances dog Gables commission candidate: “Coral Gables political circles are abuzz with talk of a candidate’s past financial woes. Turns out he isn’t the only one.”
So now we have two candidates — both Sanabria and Rosenblatt — arguing that their bankruptcies have made them better. Here’s Sanabria’s version:
Sanabria said his bankruptcy was an embarrassing situation, but it taught him to be careful with partnerships and be debt free.
“It gave me the greatest lesson – I have become a multimillionaire,” Sanabria said.
At this rate, next thing you know, bankruptcies — once seen in England and the US as disqualifying you from polite society — will be seen as a prerequisite to elected office…
Very sad state of affairs. While we do learn from our mistakes, this is not the kind of thing you want to see become the norm.
I wonder if these two “mulitimillionaires” paid any of their creditors back now that they’ve learned their lesson. Do they realize it’s not so easy for the city to wipe clean its debts and start afresh. And these two candidates are considered front- runners in this election. It’s ridiculous that all their money and their friends with money can buy a seat on the commission.
Declaring bankruptcy is bad enough for a candidate professing fiscal management, but being arrested for embezzlement (Rosenblatt) takes it to a whole new level.
Not convicted. Innocent until proven guilty. Now, signing blank checks….
I don’t really see the problem with bankruptcy. Our society is built on risk-taking. We have, as a society, decided that risk taking is so important that we will let people “wipe the slate clean” if their risks go badly so that further risk taking is encouraged.
Its not as if bankruptcy is some trick in which unsuspecting creditors are caught in a game of “gottcha.” Congress enacted bankruptcy laws in the light of day and has made no effort to hide their existence. Creditors go into deals aware of the legal options available to most debtors (including bankruptcy).
Maybe its just me, but I see bankruptcy as not far removed from putting your assets in trust to avoid probate, buying a big house in Florida to avoid judgment creditors (homestead laws being what they are), investing in an annuity to avoid income taxes, etc. In other words, a perfectly legitimate and legal strategy for managing assets and liabilities.
All that said, I suppose a pattern of bankruptcies, or even a very recent bankruptcy, could be a sign that the individual is not the best money manager. But the simple fact that a person once declared bankruptcy, by itself, is simply not a big deal in my book.
As for Rebecca’s query whether “these two ‘mulitimillionaires’ paid any of their creditors back now that they’ve learned their lesson,” I would answer that the debts were likely fully resolved through bankruptcy. If the then-creditors took a loss on the deals, so be it. But they are no longer creditors to whom the once upon a time bankruptcy-debtors owe any obligation. Its as simple as that.
I think it is good that they learned form their mistakes, I would like them to show others before they have to declare bankruptcy. It is important that people have resources .
Personal bankruptcy is a LAW in place to assist those who need it. Those of you opposed to it or just jealous about it, read again!!! Its the LAW,
Chapter 7 basically takes your assets if you have any not including exempt items like your homestead property & autos and uses these assets to pay off your creditors and then you start with a clean slate you owe 0.
Chapter 13 is a “reorganization” where you pay a percentage of what you to the courts registry for a period usually of 5 years.
For those of you against the personal bankruptcy LAW then its safe to assume its also WRONG for multi-billion $$ corporations to file Chapter 11 or even steal taxpayer funds thru the TARP program as many mega banks, insurance companies & auto manufacturers did @ the end George Bush 2nd term to bail out their SORRY, PATHETIC business decisions and allow the Mega banks for example to illegally continue to foreclose on so many misinformed homeowners thru our Courts system.