National survey reveals that Americans voting with their wallets should pick the Democratic candidate
Seattle, Wash — Avvo Inc., the only free Web site that empowers consumers to handle their legal matters with confidence, today announced the results of a nationwide survey of the site’s top rated bankruptcy lawyers to determine which presidential candidate – Senator Barak Obama or Senator John McCain – would be the better candidate to address the current economic crisis.
Specifically, they say that Senator Obama’s plan to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages; create an exemption for people who filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses and rolling back portions of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 will resonate with voters.
Sixty-five percent of the bankruptcy attorneys believe that Senator Obama’s economic plan offers more for “main street” voters than the plans offered by Senator McCain.
Lawyers surveyed say that Senator McCain has done an inadequate job of communicating his economic plans to the public. Many believe his level of comfort in addressing national security issues and foreign policy has taken precedent over addressing economic issues which are in the forefront of voters’ minds.
Bankruptcy filings are up 29 percent over last year, a key indicator of the overall health of the economy. Of particular concern is the profile of those who are seeking bankruptcy protection. Those surveyed said they have seen an increase in filings from individuals who have enjoyed financial success and avoided bankruptcy, as well as from small- and medium-sized businesses which are unable to gain access to capital to keep their businesses operating.
When it comes to the topic of who is to responsible for triggering the crisis, the bankruptcy attorneys agree that Main Street and the U.S. government should share the blame with Wall Street.
Specifically, they point to the financial deregulation of the banking system which resulted in an easing of lending requirements and the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 which made it harder for consumers to have their debt forgiven as major contributing factors.
In addition, the bankruptcy attorneys agree that homeowners need to look in the mirror when it comes to assigning blame for our current financial crisis. The large number of borrowers using the equity of their homes to borrow money which they couldn’t repay, or taking out mortgages larger than they could comfortably handle, have resulted in an increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures. At Avvo, where consumers can research lawyers or seek free answers to their legal questions based on their specific legal needs, searches for foreclosure-related topics are up 700 percent since the beginning of 2008.
“Avvo polled the bankruptcy attorneys as they have unique perspective on economic topics due to their first hand knowledge of how current policies are impacting Americans and businesses on Main Street,” said Mark Britton, CEO and president of Avvo. “These attorneys don’t expect to see economic relief occurring any time soon, and believe the crisis will continue and worsen over the next several months regardless of who is elected president.”
