A front page story in yesterday’s New York Times details India farmers along with their debt and suicide that comes with it.
The father of a farming family received a visit from local money lenders and what they said to him led to his suicide. The father hung himself from a pipe supporting their roof. Beside him was a detailed list of each debt he owed and the money lender he owed it too.
The full sum was 400,000 rupees, or $6,430.
In India, the suicide rate among farmers is nearly three times the national average with a total of 290,000 farmer suicides since 2005.
On the day that this man’s wife went to a local revenue officer who would hopefully grant her designation to make a one-time debt payment of 150,000 rupees to all of the money lenders to split, 18 other women were waiting to do the same thing – all with police reports claiming debt as the motive behind the farmer’s suicide.
The revenue officer, instead, blamed the farmers’ suicides on drinking problems and bad money management. He claimed that he’s never seen a genuine case of farmer suicide and that farmers are overspending on their children’s education.
Apparently, even suicide doesn’t relieve the debt in India. Instead, farmers’ widows are responsible to repay the debt and are subject to terrible harassment from the money lenders. And as widows try to hide these issues from their children, the children grow older and wiser and begin to realize the problem at hand. Then, instead of focusing on their education that can help them avoid situations such as these in the future, they are worried about helping their families make a living, all because the debt couldn’t be forgiven.
I feel sorry for these farmers.
Fortunately here in the United States, we don’t have to live like this. If you fall into debt and can’t pay your bills, your debt can be forgiven through a bankruptcy. You don’t have to put up with harassment from creditors. In fact, it’s illegal. We believe in a fresh financial start.
Sure, people make bad money choices all the time here in the US – we’ve all done it before. We can overspend on stupid things we don’t need, or we can overspend in an honest attempt to make the lives of our loved ones better, such as these farmers did by sending their children to get a better education.
However, those bad choices can be nullified through a bankruptcy by discharging your debts or allowing you to make affordable payments over a period of time. Then, your financial slate is clean and you can start fresh.
We even have programs, such as “7 Steps to a 720” that can teach you how to re-establish and rebuild your credit the right way. At Darrell Castle & Associates, we offer this program free to our clients.
Don’t let debt stress you out. It can really be a killer.
Instead, think about a bankruptcy.
If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy or if you have any questions, contact us today, either online or by calling us at (901) 327-2100. One of our experienced Memphis bankruptcy attorneys will be ready to speak with you, free of charge.