Recent turmoil in the credit markets and other bad economic news has many residents of Atlanta fearful about the effects of the credit crunch on Main Street. Many small businesses that need short term credit to make payroll and maintain inventories have begun to feel the pinch. Some are considering closing their doors and declaring bankruptcy.
It has also centered the attention of voters in the upcoming presidential elections squarely on the economy. Democratic candidate Barak Obama received a slight bounce in national polls as more attention has focused on economic issues. He led his Republican challenger, John McCain by eight points the nationwide CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday.
A new poll released by BankruptcyHome.com, a Web site that provides information on bankruptcy and debt consolidation, showed that those seeking information about bankruptcy favor the Democrat to handle economic issues by 26.78 percent over McCain. Obama was chosen by 48.17 percent of the over 1,200 respondents when asked which candidate was better prepared to handle the economy. Just over 12 percent were either unsure or thought neither could do much to address economic issues.
McCain holds an almost 10 point lead in the polls in Georgia, and is expected to carry the state. However, recent economic news is casting doubt on the Republican’s chances to recover from several missteps in late September as the current financial crisis came to the forefront of the nation’s attention.
Obama supports changing bankruptcy laws so that a judge can rewrite a mortgage on a first home in order to keep families in their homes. McCain opposes changing the bankruptcy reforms passed in 2005.
Both candidates voted to approve the Treasury Department’s $700 billion bailout of financial institutions that has yet to be implemented, and will likely take some time to work its way into the credit markets. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said recently that it will likely be several weeks before the Treasury starts fully operating the program to buy troubled mortgage assets.
He said that the program, intended to restore stability to the financial system, will not stop every bank from going under and that some financial institutions will fail. The program, according to Paulson, is not intended to save institutions just for the sake of saving them.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has taken a slow-motion drop of 20 percent in the last seven days. All signs point to a prolonged recovery from the current economic slowdown. If you are feeling the pinch of the financial crisis and can’t get ahead of your own debts, you might out to consider consulting anexperienced debt law firm.
