Author Archive | Todd Zywicki

I am scheduled to appear on Lou Dobbs on CNN this evening to discuss the bankruptcy reform legislation.

I have a second column on the bankruptcy reform legislation today on NRO, “Credit Worthy: There are ‘special interests’ on both sides of the bankruptcy bill.” To clarify one point in the column–note that every Republican and all of the moderate/conservative Democrats in the Senate supported the legislation (Nelson, Bayh, Biden, etc.). The only opposition […]

I have a column “Bankrupt Criticisms” on the Bankruptcy Reform legislation today on National Review Online. Tomorrow NRO will be running a follow-up column on the politics of bankruptcy reform.

The relationship between the debt-service ratio and bankrutcies holds up when you look at the lowest quintile as well. This belies the claim that the problem is profligate expansion of credit to risky low-income borrowers, which is usually what is referred to in discussing subprime borrowers. Consider this data drawn from the same article: Again, […]

I have read a great deal lately in the Blogosphere and mainstream media criticizing the bankruptcy reform legislation. A common refrain is that the primary reason for rising consumer bankruptcy filings is reckless extension of credit by lenders, and that the bankruptcy reform legislation improperly lets lenders “off the hook” by bailing them out from […]

The working paper of my new article “Institutions, Incentives, and Consumer Bankruptcy Reform” is now available. You can download it from SSRN or BEPress. This is the article of mine that was referenced to yesterday in Leslie Eaton’s article in the New York Times on the bankruptcy reform legislation. Here’s the Abstract: Consumer bankruptcy filing […]

Leslie Eaton in today’s New York Times has one of the more thoughtful and balanced articles on the bankruptcy reform legislation. She writes (correctly, I think): But at its broadest, the debate illustrates the clash between competing American values: the right to a fresh start versus the idea that people must be held responsible for […]

Dartmouth readers–as one of the few College-approved contacts with alumni during the Trustee election, we are permitted to send 2 emails during the balloting period. This past Thursday (the 10th), you should have received an email from two candidates, one from me and one from another candidate (Ric Lewis). They should have arrived roughly at […]

Some reflections: 1. Guatemalans are very concerned about the future of freedom in Central America. While we tend to think that things are basically going fine, many of the countries in Central America are starting to turn back to Socialism. Great concerns in Guatemala. 2. The most recently issued license plates on cars in Guatemala […]

I just returned from a week in Guatemala at the remarkable Universidad de Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City. A truly remarkable institution, filled with brilliant and friendly professors and extraordinarily bright and engaged students. Each student is required to take 3 semesters of study of market economics and 2 semesters of Social Philosophy, basically reading […]

I have just launched my latest article on the seas of the law review submission process as well. It is “Institutions, Incentives, and Consumer Bankruptcy Reform.” It is in the process of being posted as a working paper and I will let you know when it is available. This article builds on prior work of […]

The Democratic “Blue Dog Coalition” in the House of Represntatives has come out strongly for Bankruptcy Reform in a letter to Speaker Hastert. As they correctly observe, “Allowing bankruptcy to become a financial planning tool rather than a last resort forces many of our constituents who pay their debts to pay for those who do […]

Kudos to the University of Alabama Student Senate for having the courage to stand up to their own faculty and condemning the faculty’s endorsement of a speech code. The indispensible FIRE is on the case, and has the full story on its website. From the Student’s Resolution: The Student Senate resolution, sent to UA President […]

Long story on NPR this morning about the Bankruptcy Reform Legislation. Pretty much what you would expect, but they do quote from my testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. You can listen to it here.

According to reports, Arrested Development is on the verge of being canceled! A petition has been started to save Arrested Development–you can sign it here. Arrested Development is the best show on television–if you haven’t seen it, watch it this weekend and then sign the petition!