In February, more than 2,300 households in Washington state declared bankruptcy, up more than 50 percent from a year ago. The most densely populated counties — King, Pierce and Snohomish — together accounted for 1,138 filings.
Check out the interactive map, too. Puget Sound is in the thick of it.
…and now the FDIC doesn’t have enough money to rescue all the banks.
WASHINGTON – The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall in part because it collected no insurance premiums from most banks from 1996 to 2006.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits up to $250,000, tried for years to get congressional authority to collect the premiums in case of a looming crisis. But Congress believed that the fund was so well-capitalized – and that bank failures were so infrequent – that there was no need to collect the premiums for a decade, according to banking officials and analysts.
If I had a client who didn’t pay his bills for ten years, I don’t think I’d have too much luck asking the bankruptcy judge for a bailout.
In case you missed it, here’s Jon Stewart’s already-classic takedown of Rick Santelli and CNBC on last Wednesday’s episode of The Daily Show:
The cramdown bill passes the House, 234-191. All of our Western Washington representatives voted for the bill except for Dave Reichert, the only Republican in the bunch.
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote within the next couple of hours on H.R. 1106, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of a mortgage to help prevent foreclosures. Please call or fax your representative’s office and tell them you support the bill.
Phone numbers for Seattle-area representatives:
| Member | Phone | Fax |
|---|---|---|
| Rep. Jay Inslee (D – 1st Dist.) | 202-225-6311 | 202-226-1606 |
| Rep. Norm Dicks (D – 6th Dist.) | 202-225-5916 | 202-226-1176 |
| Rep. Jim McDermott (D – 7th Dist.) | 202-225-3106 | 202-225-6197 |
| Rep. Dave Reichert (D – 8th) | 202-225-7761 | 202-225-4282 |
| Rep. Adam Smith (D – 9th) | 202-225-8901 | 202-225-5893 |
