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  "id": "RS20777",
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      "id": 410492,
      "date": "2011-12-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:57:07.015384",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA; P.L. 109-8) included the most significant amendments to consumer bankruptcy procedures since the 1970s. Bankruptcy reform was enacted in response to the high number of consumer bankruptcy filings, which in 2004 and 2005 reached five times the level of the early 1980s. Why did filings increase so dramatically during a period that included two of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history? Because bankruptcy is by definition a condition of excessive debt, many would expect to see a corresponding increase in the debt burden of U.S. households over the same period. However, while household debt has indeed grown, debt costs as a percentage of income have risen only moderately. What aggregate statistics do not show is that the debt burden does not fall evenly on all families. Financial distress is common among lower-income households: in 2007, 27% of families in the bottom fifth of the income distribution spent more than 40% of their income to repay debt.\nFollowing the effective date of BAPCPA, in October 2005, there was a sharp reduction in the number of bankruptcy filings, reflecting the \u201crush to the courthouse\u201d in the months before the new law took effect. Since the 2006 lows, the number of filings has risen steadily. In 2010, personal bankruptcy filings reached 1.5 million, roughly equal to the pre-BAPCPA level. It appears that BAPCPA has not produced the effect its supporters hoped for\u2014a substantial and permanent reduction in the rate of consumer bankruptcy.\nWith the recession that began in December 2007, the long-term upward trend in consumer indebtedness was interrupted. Beginning in the middle of 2008, the amount of debt held by U.S. households declined for 11 consecutive quarters. Through the third quarter of 2011, households reduced their debt burden by $853 billion, or 6.5%. Causes and implications of this trend are discussed in CRS Report R41623, U.S. Household Debt Reduction, by Darryl E. Getter.\nThis report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and families in financial distress. It will be updated as new statistics become available.",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810060/",
      "id": "RS20777_2008Oct22",
      "date": "2008-10-22",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810582/",
      "id": "RS20777_2007Sep14",
      "date": "2007-09-14",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807865/",
      "id": "RS20777_2005Mar21",
      "date": "2005-03-21",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs4667/",
      "id": "RS20777 2003-08-19",
      "date": "2003-08-19",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T11:30:16",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.",
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          "id": "Finance",
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          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Consumer credit",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs4666/",
      "id": "RS20777 2003-05-14",
      "date": "2003-05-14",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T11:30:04",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs4665/",
      "id": "RS20777 2003-02-27",
      "date": "2003-02-27",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T11:29:53",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.",
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          "id": "Consumer credit",
          "name": "Consumer credit"
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs2825/",
      "id": "RS20777 2002-09-06",
      "date": "2002-09-06",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T11:29:43",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.",
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      "id": "RS20777 2002-02-08",
      "date": "2002-02-08",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T11:29:32",
      "title": "Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt",
      "summary": "Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.",
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  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy"
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}