The Dallas Debt Relief Crisis (And How Your Family Might Be Protected)

As has been well reported throughout the local and national media outlets, the residents of Dallas are suffering through what may as well be considered a debt relief crisis with relevant statistical data regarding bankruptcy declarations, foreclosure proceedings, and credit card debt in Dallas totals combining to illustrate a gruesome portrait of the all inclusive fiduciary upheaval propelled forward through unchecked borrowing.  Each new economic headline splattered atop the Dallas Business Journal or Morning News adds another piece to an ever more disturbing puzzle, as industries wither and retail outlets fail to rebound and home prices dip, seemingly disconnected industries falling in turn like so many dominoes in a row. 

Examining the entirety of the ill market tidings may be instructive and shamefully fascinating for dispassionate observers analyzing the chaos theory of consumer finance applied to the modern American business landscape. (though, instead of a butterfly's wings causing typhoons halfway across the world, our current model suggests the Baylor co-ed's credit card debt would influence the Lockheed Martin hiring policies and Highland Park appraisal values)  However, when it comes to the debtors themselves, our men and women fighting for their families' financial survival cannot afford to lose focus on their personal circumstances nor forget that their neighbors' or office mates' debt relief solutions would not necessarily be relevant: and may, in fact, prove damaging to their own affairs.

More than anything, it's crucial that consumers comprehend the distinction that separates burdens secured to a piece of collateral (such as a home or an automobile) and those that are based upon nothing more than the name (and social security number) before venturing forward with debt relief plans.  Although court judgments are most commonly the consequence of unpaid familial support or income tax debts, charged off unsecured loan balances could certainly result in such an occurrence throughout much of the country.  However, the Texas legislature, along with only a few other states around the country, refuses to honor the federal legislation granting broad (and, to many legal minds, essentially unfair) powers to lending institutions once they successfully convince a civil court they're deserving of compensation for past unsecured debts.  Around near every other one of these United States, creditors seeking their own version of debt relief by virtually any means necessary could attach a full quarter of the borrower's earnings so long as the household income fits additional criteria as designated by the federal guidelines. 

Make no mistake, these regulations were conceived and the public policy essentially designed by corporate flacks whose credit card debt reclamation schemes were then approved by the Congressional amen choir ever angling for campaign war chests.  Indeed, the Texas lawmakers' reluctance to allow commercial lenders the same invasive libterties enjoyed by collection agents throughout the neighboring states remains a singular testament to the steadfast principles of our elected officials.  Keeping that in mind, Dallas consumers with full understanding of their rights can profitably employ the local protections to avoid bankruptcy by leveraging a form of debt settlement to their own best advantage.  In the best of all possible outcomes, newly enlightened Texan borrowers even take the creditors to court if they persist with empty threats exploiting the tensions and free flowing misinformation tbat has so cripped the Dallas economy.