I have no idea what “people” Professor Zywicki is referring to. I have yet to meet a debtor who actually wants to meet me. Sure, I might be fairly personable, have a good sense of humor and like the Red Sox just as much as the next guy, but I think if most people felt they had a choice in the matter, they would rather discuss gum disease with their dentist than to meet with me to discuss the prospect of filing for bankruptcy protection. Moreover, I am consistently asked “…is my bankruptcy going to appear in the newspaper?” If it were so socially acceptable, I would think that people would be itching to get their bankruptcies publicized.

Alternatively, I could just give out t-shirts to my clients that read: “Hey! Look at me! I’m bankrupt and more socially acceptable than ever!”

That’s not the only gem Professor Zywicki shares:

When we borrow money we make a promise. And I believe that we should live up to our promises to the extent we can. If we can't for reasons beyond our control then a just, charitable society lets us up and gives us a second chance. But if it's just a matter of convenience, if it's just a matter of trying to live beyond our means, then I take a very different view of that.

While I understand that Zywicki is a law professor, and the study of law is very different than the study of just about everything else, he misses an important economic and sociological compenent. The fact is our American society not only emphasizes that people can and should live beyond their means, but in many cases, Americans must live beyond their means to maintain a standard of living. Lets take – just as an example – the federal government which recently raised its debt ceiling to almost $9 trillion. Trillion, with a "t". "T" is also the same letter that is used the the word "trouble." With that line of credit, it sort of makes me wonder: “what’s in their wallet?” (and it unfortunately puts another song in my head: Music Man's "well, ya got trouble my friends....").

If the average bankruptcy debtor was a retail clerk driving a luxury sedan living in a gated community in a home where every room has a plasma TV and the latest gizmo, I could see his point. But if our own leaders cannot get their financial house in order is it really any surprise that the average American struggles to do so?

The majority of folks in bankruptcy are there because they found themselves trying to "live up to their promises," but got pushed back by obscenely high credit card rates...or by events in life that were beyond their control. Many of the people I have represented have been forced to pay for groceries and prescriptions with credit cards because available cash had to go towards minimum payments.

Others lost jobs, have gone through divorce, or have had some serious health issue in the family. And others managed to forget paying their electric bill one month and found their interest rates on credit cards jumping because of a nifty universal default clause. Yet if we were discussing instead a loan shark standing on a street corner with a wad of fifties in one hand and a baseball bat in the other, I cannot help but wonder if Zywicki would still focus his attention on the borrower.

Reportedly, Zywicki wants to bring the “social stigma” of bankruptcy “back.” I have news for the good Professor: you cannot bring something back that never went away. Instead of resorting to indignation, let’s see what we can do about getting Washington to focus on the real issues that are getting people into the financial messes that force them to see me, rather than their dentist.