Oh, Did I Forget to Mention the Part About My Second Wife Being a Serial Bankruptcy-Filer?

Matt Welch | May 22, 2009

Remember that confessions-of-an-upper-class-bankruptcy story by the New York Times econ reporter that Tim Cavanaugh mocked a few days back? The one in which the soul-baring author aims to convince us that something must be wrong with a system that allowed for his failure? Well, The Atlantic's Megan McArdle has done some actual investigating into the various bankruptcy filings and discovered that there's quite a bit of relevant data he left out.

Comments

|5.22.09 @ 12:05PM|#

And yet, if one were to suggest that credit card companies should be allowed to refuse their services to people who have previously filed for bankruptcy, one would be accused of heartless cruelty.

|5.22.09 @ 12:11PM|#

"And yet, if one were to suggest that credit card companies should be allowed to refuse their services to people who have previously filed for bankruptcy, one would be accused of heartless cruelty."


They are free to do that. They just choose not to. My parents went through a bankruptcy in the early 90s. As soon as the action ended, they got more credit offers than they knew what to do it.

Credit card companies continued willingness to loan money to people who either can't pay or have recently declared bankruptcy tells me that they make so much fucking money that it doesn't matter if you default on the note.

|5.22.09 @ 12:11PM|#

Great article, but...

Andrews' desire to shield his wife is understandable--hell, laudable. No decent person wants to parade their spouse's financial trouble in front of the world.

THEN DON'T WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT!!!! This is firmly within "saying too much or too little" territory.

|5.22.09 @ 12:11PM|#

This guy is a total imbecile. Just what he copped to in the NYT article, is enough to justify making him homeless. Until he's living in a cardboard box with only one pair of shoes, how anyone can feel anything but contempt for this moron is beyond me.

Hammered Head|5.22.09 @ 12:12PM|#

Matt, you seem to have a pretty low threshold for you definition of Upper Class.

I wonder why he would marry such a woman. You can easily control who you fall in love with, by avoiding those who might be destructive.

|5.22.09 @ 12:14PM|#

"Gee, Mr Andrews, ain't reality a bitch?"

|5.22.09 @ 12:15PM|#

"I wonder why he would marry such a woman."

Google the guy's picture and you will see why. He wasn't exactly thinking with his brain.

|5.22.09 @ 12:16PM|#

I said this on the original thread about Mr. Douchebag: he got involved with a chick with a kid. We already know he's retarded; everything else he does is just gravy.

|5.22.09 @ 12:18PM|#

"I said this on the original thread about Mr. Douchebag: he got involved with a chick with a kid. We already know he's retarded; everything else he does is just gravy."

The chick with kid part isn't that bad. It is getting involved with a chick who doesn't have a job and has declared bankruptcy twice in ten years. And oh by the way, he left his wife and kids (hello big child support) to do it. The kid part is kind of superfluous.

|5.22.09 @ 12:22PM|#

The kid part is kind of superfluous.

Not in my view, John.

|5.22.09 @ 12:26PM|#

"The kid part is kind of superfluous.

Not in my view, John."

All in the eye of the beholder I guess. But, the bottomline is that it is a really bad idea to leave your wife and two kids for a woman who is unemployed and a serial bankruptcy filer. The fact that she doesn't have a kid, doesn't make the move any smarter.

|5.22.09 @ 12:26PM|#

I don't think that the new information, while interesting, changes much. The reporter, theoretically knowledgeable about finance, was incapable of understanding that with an income of 10$, he could not buy 20$ worth of stuff.
I saw this NYT reporter on the PBS News hour the other night - and I think the insinuation that the mortgage broker should have saved the NYT reporter from himself is the crux of the problem. The NYT believes in regulation because it believes people cannot constrain themselves, are gullible, naive, greedy, and stupid. And with NYT reporters like this, I would believe that too.
Actually, I do believe that people are gullible, naive, greedy, and stupid. I just don't believe gubermint regulators are any LESS gullible, naive, greedy, and stupid than anybody else.

|5.22.09 @ 12:30PM|#

My, my, my. Tsk, tsk.
*shakes head and walks away*

JB|5.22.09 @ 12:56PM|#

NYT reporters are retarded. Anyone affiliated with that organization should often be questioned. Every article should be read with the caveat that this is the newspaper that white-washed Stalin.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 1:04PM|#

Almost every story like this that you read in the MSM is "tidied up". This is a very common tactic by reporters. The narrative goes something like this:

We need a story, showing real people having real effects from this economy. Go cultivate a story.

But unfortunately, to find these stories, often times the reporter (or in this case, the storyteller himself) has to gloss over a few details which are basically palm-slap-to-the-forehead details which real regular people would have a hard time getting past.

A lot of times it's like the details on the old 'are the poor responsible for being poor'. While it's often politically incorrect to say so, sometimes they are.

Everyone... and I mean everyone either knows someone or has someone in the family that's poor. Get your hard core liberal and then ask them about their marginally employed Uncle Ralph, and boy, the source of his problems are always very clear.

catMoses|5.22.09 @ 1:07PM|#

Only big city print dailies can do this kind of investigative reporting.

Kolohe|5.22.09 @ 1:28PM|#

I said this on the original thread about Mr. Douchebag: he got involved with a chick with a kid.

When you said this last time, it was late in the day to say anything but:

Epi, you're not going to be in your 20's forever. In 10 years, if you're still looking, you're going to find most of the available women (your age) have done stuff in the past, including a natural and prevalent biological function.

BakedPenguin|5.22.09 @ 1:34PM|#

...he got involved with a chick with a kid. We already know he's retarded...

Not all of us look like you, Epi. Sometimes you gotta settle.

There can also be advantages to dating a woman with kids. I went out with one woman for a year. Because she didn't want her kids to know that she was seeing someone, we only met up to have sex and occasionally see a movie.

|5.22.09 @ 1:39PM|#

BP, would you have dated her if she wanted you to be daddy to the kidsies?

Naga Sadow|5.22.09 @ 1:40PM|#

Kolohe! Stopping encouraging Epi! He's actually a senile 74 year old man who goes trolling for mall ass every Saturday.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 1:41PM|#

Epi, you're not going to be in your 20's forever. In 10 years, if you're still looking, you're going to find most of the available women (your age) have done stuff in the past, including a natural and prevalent biological function.

As someone who's recently divorced and driving hard and fast towards my mid-forties, guess what I won't be getting involved with? A woman with kids who has debt. Any debt. At all. $60,000 in student loan debt because of that Art History degree. Uhh, yeah, no. Teenage daughter who's just beginning to get into the sexually active game? No thank you.

You see, choosing who you get involved with is a major function of your survival. With my 401k bleeding more cash than a dishonored Japanese auto exec committing ritual Sepiku, I have to choose someone completely without baggage. Spending habits need to be rooted out, debt exposure, former spouses that may have liens on her ass. You name it.

And in fact, marriage is pretty much out of the question. Because even if she comes without baggage, if two years into the marriage she decides she's going to go on an "emotional journey of self discovery" I ain't given up half my real estate holdings, half my retirement, half my car, and half everything else I own so she can go find herself. Been through that once, ain't gonna happen again.

We're playin' prison rules this time around. You wanna hang? You can hang. You wanna go? Go. But I ain't signing nothing, and that includes a marriage license.

As Chris Rock said with much wisdom: Eeeeveryone should get a prenup. Especially when you're poor. You got $20,000,000 and she gets ten, you ain't starvin'... but if you got $30,000, and she get fifteen? Sheeit, you just might have to kill her.

|5.22.09 @ 1:44PM|#

John:

Re offering credit to recent bankruptcy filers, it turns out that recent filers often see their credit profiles improve. The one thing you know about a recent filer is that they can't file Chapter 13 for 4 years or Chapter 7 for 8.

I could be off on the filing periods, but the principle is that bankrutpcy takes someone with @!*# credit, wipes out their existing debts, and prevents them from filing again for several years. Their credit profile is still bad, but it's actually quite a bit better than it was before they filed.

BakedPenguin|5.22.09 @ 1:46PM|#

BP, would you have dated her if she wanted you to be daddy to the kidsies?

Ok, good point. I still would have dated her (she was much better looking than I am), but yeah, I would have gotten out at some point prior to marriage.

Jennifer|5.22.09 @ 1:46PM|#

I am going to write and publish a news article talking about how horrible it is, this trend of some people posting comments on Internet political sites when they're supposed to be working.

Surely there's no way THAT article could ever bite me in the ass.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 1:48PM|#

I am going to write and publish a news article talking about how horrible it is, this trend of some people posting comments on Internet political sites when they're supposed to be working.

When are we supposed to post? I got shit to do on the weekends.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 1:58PM|#

I went out with one woman for a year. Because she didn't want her kids to know that she was seeing someone, we only met up to have sex and occasionally see a movie.

That's the shiznit. All the perks, none of the downside.

Warty|5.22.09 @ 2:00PM|#

Epi, you're not going to be in your 20's forever. In 10 years, if you're still looking, you're going to find most of the available women (your age) have done stuff in the past, including a natural and prevalent biological function.

Don't do it, Epi. Buy a Ukrainian waif and chain her in the basement, if it comes to that.

BakedPenguin|5.22.09 @ 2:07PM|#

That's the shiznit. All the perks, none of the downside.

Oh, yeah. I wasn't the one who broke us up.

|5.22.09 @ 2:22PM|#

"That's the shiznit. All the perks, none of the downside.
Oh, yeah. I wasn't the one who broke us up."

I have no doubt. Back when I was single I dated a couple of women with kids. And I had pretty good luck. Since they already had kids, they were less interested in nesting and how much money I had. And they were more interested in fucking.

KenK|5.22.09 @ 2:51PM|#

The guy is a reporter at the NYT - why would any of this be a surprise?

|5.22.09 @ 3:14PM|#

Since they already had kids, they were less interested in nesting and how much money I had.

Very unusual. In my experience, the dating single mother tends to be avaricious, mercenary, and possessive.

Somebody's got to finance her lifestyle and pay for the kids, and she's learned it ain't gonna be her.

|5.22.09 @ 3:18PM|#

"Very unusual. In my experience, the dating single mother tends to be avaricious, mercenary, and possessive."


You must have dated ones with younger kids and or deadbeat ex husbands. I dated ones with older kids and well off ex husbands. They had raised their kids and were looking for some good times.

|5.22.09 @ 3:24PM|#

R.C.

You really should stop picking up dates at the WIC office.

Jennifer|5.22.09 @ 4:00PM|#

There is not topic that can't be turned into a misogyny festival here on Hit and Run.

Jennifer|5.22.09 @ 4:04PM|#

"No" topic, rather.

Since I won't get to see my boyfriend until 8 or 9 p.m. tonight, I shall amuse myself in the meanwhile by finding some unsuspecting man and depriving him of his vital male essence. Because I'm a modern American woman, and that's what we do for fun.

Secret note to R.C.: the problem definitely lies with every woman you've ever dated, not with you.

T|5.22.09 @ 4:11PM|#

I shall amuse myself in the meanwhile by finding some unsuspecting man and depriving him of his vital male essence. Because I'm a modern American woman, and that's what we do for fun.

Sounds like somebody needs a hobby. I hear you girls like crocheting, knitting, and embroidery. Maybe one of the other spinsters can give you some tips?

Jennifer|5.22.09 @ 4:34PM|#

I don't need a hobby. I've already got one: depriving men of their vital essence.

I got the idea from watching "Dr. Strangelove."

JB|5.22.09 @ 4:57PM|#

There is not topic that can't be turned into a misogyny festival here on Hit and Run.

Women tend to supply us with an endless amount of material. I'm not going to defend the generic guy so I suggest you are fighting a losing war trying to defend the generic female.

|5.22.09 @ 5:00PM|#

This guy is also a good example of why newspapers are going out of business. They paid him $120,000 base salary? I know that wasn't enough for him to pay his bills, but 95+% of people are probably wondering how a guy who cant pay his own household expenses gets a news paper to pay him 6 figures to write about economics.

isla|5.22.09 @ 5:01PM|#

Thank you, Jennifer. The comments section on this site usually has a lot of interesting discussions, and John tends to be one of the more thorough/intelligent posters. But every once in a while, it devolves into this ungentlemanly crap that makes me wonder if there are any libertarian men who aren't also libertines with misogynist chips on their shoulders.

T|5.22.09 @ 5:07PM|#

if there are any libertarian men who aren't also libertines with misogynist chips on their shoulders

They're hanging out at Feministing with SugarFree.

isla|5.22.09 @ 5:10PM|#

Feministing would only be for girly men who like to be treated like shit. Try again.

|5.22.09 @ 5:19PM|#

Secret note to R.C.: the problem definitely lies with every woman you've ever dated, not with you.

I haven't dated a one of them. My post is based purely on field observations of single mothers dating friends and relatives.

I sympathize with them, really. They've got a tough row to hoe, and since they put the welfare of their children first, any potential mate is likely to be evaluated as a breadwinner and household helpmeet first. Perfectly understandable.

I know a couple of guys who married single mothers, and there is no question that they are at the bottom of the household pecking order. They're smart guys; they must have known that going in.

Caveats: Sample sizes small. Extrapolate at your own risk. No known prior history of misogyny. Offended readers invited to inspect own eye for beams.

isla|5.22.09 @ 5:30PM|#

I wouldn't have much of a life if I took offense to internet postings, and I'm not being a wet towel-- just thought I'd point out that these conversations sound much less intelligent when they turn into conversations about "f***ing." Besides my AutoCAD is giving me hell and I needed something to do for a few minutes.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 5:51PM|#

Since I won't get to see my boyfriend until 8 or 9 p.m. tonight, I shall amuse myself in the meanwhile by finding some unsuspecting man and depriving him of his vital male essence.

You've already done that. And you'll be seeing him at 8 or 9pm tonight. Had you not deprived him of his vital male essence, you probably wouldn't see him at all tonight.

Paul|5.22.09 @ 5:54PM|#

I sympathize with them, really. They've got a tough row to hoe, and since they put the welfare of their children first, any potential mate is likely to be evaluated as a breadwinner and household helpmeet first. Perfectly understandable.

Being a single father (yes! They exist! Sometimes even women have midlife crises! But when women do it, it's called an "emotional journey of self discovery". When a man does it, it's called immature narcissism) I have no interest in hunting down a woman to pay my way. I mean, don't get me wrong, you give me the opportunity to date up, and I'll jump all over it. I mean, as long as she's hot'n fancy. I still have my priorities.

Tim Cavanaugh|5.22.09 @ 6:10PM|#

I didn't make fun! I edited it. I really think it's possible Andrews didn't see the noir drama that lay under all of his text. I just wanted to help him bring that out. And will he thank me when the treatment gets optioned by Sony Pictures Classics?

Paul|5.22.09 @ 6:24PM|#

And will he thank me when the treatment gets optioned by Sony Pictures Classics?

Yeah, 'cept the treatment will be Erin Brockovich meets Country, with Andrews as a modern day underdog, fighting the compassionless banking powers-that-be, struggling to keep his home against insurmountable odds.

This all reminds me of an interview that Terry Gross conducted years ago with a woman who wrote a autobiographical tear-jerker about her family and the loss of the 'family farm'. Turned out the father was a rampant land speculator and lost his shirt on questionable real estate deals. Even Terry Gross was stunned by this revelation, and the author said, and I fucking quote "It's not my father's fault he was a bad business man".

NPR, if you're not laughing while listening, you're crying.

|5.22.09 @ 6:51PM|#

I wonder why he would marry such a woman.

Maybe he had too much vital male essence...

Naaah.

-jcr

|5.22.09 @ 7:53PM|#

You can take my vital male essence from my cold, dead hands.

|5.22.09 @ 8:53PM|#

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KenK|5.24.09 @ 6:04PM|#

"They've got a tough row to hoe,"

As opposed to a tough hoe to row?