Bankruptcy

Dear Editor, What's wrong with the leaders of this nation? Have they lost their marbles or gone crazy? Is this what is called fiscal responsibility? Only idiots could come up with a scheme to borrow and spend trillions of dollars to stimulate our economy. What a joke on all of us citizens, when all of this pork spending leads to the United States going into bankruptcy. When all of we retirees and disabled people lose our Social Security income, our Medicare and Medicaid insurance because of this bankruptcy, may God have mercy on us all. M. Wendell AndersonDanville

Dear Dave, In an attempt to improve my credit I recently bought a new car which I financed at 17.9 percent for 72 months. If I make the minimum payment of $468 a month, I'll end up paying about $13,000 in interest alone. Is there a formula I can use to avoid paying all this interest? Marcus Dear Marcus, Yes, there is a formula that will keep you from paying all that interest. Sell the stinking car. Your credit is lousy because you haven't paid your bills. And you haven't paid your bills because you bought a bunch of stuff you couldn't afford ?

Last fall, before taxpayers bailed out Chrysler and GM, we were told bankruptcy was out of the question. The government argued the automobile industry is too important to fail. The politicians claimed a tsunami of job losses would follow from bankruptcy, the capital markets would panic, and it would insure we had a major depression. Now, after the commitment of some $100 billion to Chrysler and GM, the Obama administration describes Chrysler and GM as having "successfully entered bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is therapy for economic malpractice. General Motors has pursued a flawed business plan for 35 years. During that time, it had ample opportunity to adopt a strategy that would allow it to compete with the likes of Toyota and Honda; GM's management did not do that, and now it is too late. The only reason we are having this conversation is because some people consider GM to be "too big to fail. " Notice no one is proposing Circuit City, the electronics retailer, be saved. If GM had been split up into its component parts, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Cadillac would be independent automobile companies, and that increased competition would have improved their lot in life.

Dear Editor, American business once thrived on free market principles. Key among those is that market forces drive out inefficient, unprofitable businesses in order to make way for the capable, profitable firms. If a business wants a second chance, it is possible under the protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This procedure forces companies to vet a restructuring plan through the courts and compels them, by law, to adhere to it. Currently, America ignores free market principles, and unprofitable companies remain in business with taxpayer "bailouts.

Dear Editor, In a story on Friday, Jan. 25, by Herb Brock, Jody Lassiter was quoted as saying that workers opposing the union may get ammunition for a decertification vote because of recent news coming out of Toledo that we are expecting to come out of bankruptcy and the company is expected to announce what benefits we will be getting back. Didn't he read the article in the Aug. 24, 2007, issue of The Advocate-Messenger, where Chris Beuter, spokesperson for Dana relations board, refuted the industrial board's claim that Dana would be reinstating any of the benefits modified or reduced during Dana's Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

David Stone, a former employee of The Winchester Sun, has returned to the paper as a copy editor/page designer. Stone, 46, of Morehead, has spent more than 23 years in the newspaper business. A Tennessee native, he started as a reporter for The Herald-News, a twice-a-week paper in Dayton, Tenn., in 1985, moving to its sister publication, The Daily Post-Athenian in Athens, Tenn., a year later. He last served as news editor for the Athens paper. In 1996, Stone joined The Winchester Sun staff as design editor and later served as the editor of the online version of the paper.

Dear Editor, Bailouts after bailouts, stimulus packages, one after another, virtually no interest rates, and that's not even the end of it. When will we see the end of the unconstitutional and down right pathetic attempts to try and "fix" the economy? Desperate efforts have been made to stop the crash of our dollar, yet it has gone down 10 percent in two weeks, and is likely to drop another 10 percent in the next two weeks. While the dollar is declining, foreign currencies are up, and the price of gold has gone up an astonishing 20 percent in 2 weeks.

Goody's Family Clothing, a fixture in Danville's commercial sector for about two decades, will close in the near future. The closing of the store in Ridgefield Shopping Center is part of a companywide liquidation. All of the Knoxville, Tenn.-based Goody's Family Clothing Inc.'s 287 stores in 20 southern and midwestern states will be shut down, according to various media reports today. Goody's has about 9,800 employees and annual revenues of $800 million, according to the company Web site.

In the movie titled "Weekend at Bernie's," two young men are invited to spend the weekend at the beach with their fabulously rich boss, who dies of a drug overdose shortly after their arrival. Rather than spoil the party, the two young men prop Bernie's corpse up, put a hat and sunglasses on him and pretend he is still alive. They even take his corpse water-skiing. The Obama administration is doing the same thing with Chrysler's corpse; sunglasses, a baseball cap, and they are sporting it around town and introducing it as the government's new partner in the automobile business.

Last fall, before taxpayers bailed out Chrysler and GM, we were told bankruptcy was out of the question. The government argued the automobile industry is too important to fail. The politicians claimed a tsunami of job losses would follow from bankruptcy, the capital markets would panic, and it would insure we had a major depression. Now, after the commitment of some $100 billion to Chrysler and GM, the Obama administration describes Chrysler and GM as having "successfully entered bankruptcy.

In the movie titled "Weekend at Bernie's," two young men are invited to spend the weekend at the beach with their fabulously rich boss, who dies of a drug overdose shortly after their arrival. Rather than spoil the party, the two young men prop Bernie's corpse up, put a hat and sunglasses on him and pretend he is still alive. They even take his corpse water-skiing. The Obama administration is doing the same thing with Chrysler's corpse; sunglasses, a baseball cap, and they are sporting it around town and introducing it as the government's new partner in the automobile business.

CRAB ORCHARD - When Mayor Bill Dyehouse looks to his city's future, he sees nothing but uncertainty ahead. The Lincoln County city of 900 remains saddled with almost $2 million in debt for a factory that failed to fulfill its promise. Creditors have filed claims and counterclaims that have yet to be sorted out in court. The wages of the city's five employees are frozen. "We do well just to keep the city operating," Dyehouse said. "It's a struggle. " Perhaps things will begin to clear up on Friday, when Lincoln Circuit Judge David Tapp holds a hearing on what he has called "a very complex case.

Zombies are a mainstay of American horror movies. The modern genre began with the cult film "Dawn of the Dead" in 1978, and the trend was capped by the British satire "Shaun of the Dead" in 2004. In these movies, the zombies devour the living; so, it is fitting that "zombie corporations" describe those who take bailouts during the financial crisis. Bear Stearns, GM, Chrysler, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Citigroup are sucking the life's blood out of our financial system, when they should be dead and buried.

Dear Editor, What's wrong with the leaders of this nation? Have they lost their marbles or gone crazy? Is this what is called fiscal responsibility? Only idiots could come up with a scheme to borrow and spend trillions of dollars to stimulate our economy. What a joke on all of us citizens, when all of this pork spending leads to the United States going into bankruptcy. When all of we retirees and disabled people lose our Social Security income, our Medicare and Medicaid insurance because of this bankruptcy, may God have mercy on us all. M. Wendell AndersonDanville

When Pliant Corp. comes out of bankruptcy reorganized, the company's Danville plant should not only survive but thrive after the transition. That's what Jody Lassiter, president and CEO of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership, believes in the wake of last week's announcement that Pliant voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reduce its debt and reposition itself financially. "They've always been enthusiastic about the Danville location and I'm confident, in talking with local management, that we're in good shape for the future," Lassiter said.

Apparently, gift cards from Goody's are still good after all. Mickey Marsee, store manager for the Goody's in Danville, contacted The Advocate-Messenger Friday afternoon to say his store is still honoring gift cards and will do so until it closed its doors for good. The Advocate published a story Friday detailing a Thursday incident in which Goody's customer Felicia Salyers was declined when she attempted to purchase items with a gift card. A Goody's manager confirmed the incident and said a corporate e-mail sent Thursday directed employees not to accept the cards.

Goody's Family Clothing, a fixture in Danville's commercial sector for about two decades, will close in the near future. The closing of the store in Ridgefield Shopping Center is part of a companywide liquidation. All of the Knoxville, Tenn.-based Goody's Family Clothing Inc.'s 287 stores in 20 southern and midwestern states will be shut down, according to various media reports today. Goody's has about 9,800 employees and annual revenues of $800 million, according to the company Web site.

Dear Editor, Bailouts after bailouts, stimulus packages, one after another, virtually no interest rates, and that's not even the end of it. When will we see the end of the unconstitutional and down right pathetic attempts to try and "fix" the economy? Desperate efforts have been made to stop the crash of our dollar, yet it has gone down 10 percent in two weeks, and is likely to drop another 10 percent in the next two weeks. While the dollar is declining, foreign currencies are up, and the price of gold has gone up an astonishing 20 percent in 2 weeks.

Dear Editor, American business once thrived on free market principles. Key among those is that market forces drive out inefficient, unprofitable businesses in order to make way for the capable, profitable firms. If a business wants a second chance, it is possible under the protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This procedure forces companies to vet a restructuring plan through the courts and compels them, by law, to adhere to it. Currently, America ignores free market principles, and unprofitable companies remain in business with taxpayer "bailouts.