New Bankruptcies
So Murray Energy has filed a Chapter 11. A few points here. First, anyone connected to the Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster knows that Robert Murray shouldn't be in bankruptcy court, he should be in prison. That place was one, big, deliberate safety violation, and nine people died. Second, for anyone who has a lick of sense, this ought to put the lie once and for all to Trump's promise to bring the coal industry back, which is no surprise at all to those of us who have spent the last four decades or so following how well Trump has kept his "promises". Third, watch out for another big load dumped on taxpayers. Perhaps the biggest reason corporations file Chapter 11 is to shed pension plans and foist them on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. Ordinarily, PBGC can refuse to take over an underfunded pension, but that authority is overcome by a confirmed Chapter 11 plan. So the PBGC ends up with yet another underfunded pension, and one of two things happens: 1) PBGC cuts benefits down to the funds available, leaving the pensioners impoverished and compelled to seek public assistance, or 2) PBGC gets a special bail-out from Congress. Either way, the bankrupt company shifts its private debt onto the general public.
Also filing Chapter 11 is EP Energy, one of the biggest players in the Eagle Ford Shale (Full disclosure: I represented EP Energy in the III Exploration II, LP bankruptcy.). I think it is apparent that everyone in the oil shale play is hurting and the hot money that has been propping it up is cooling. So is this why gas prices just bumped up? Doubt it. EP filed a month ago, and it was already common knowledge then there was trouble in Oil Shale City, so all that should have been factored into prices some time ago. No, I think it's far more likely, as I've commented before, that gas prices just jumped for no other reason than that they can. Don't expect gas prices to be affected by anything that happens in that place called Reality.
Labels: bankruptcy, Chapter 11
posted by Knute Rife @ 2:59 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Knute is right, bankruptcies and Chapter 11's are sprouting up all over the country, big firms, small companies... And with this terrible Covidd-19 crisis getting worse in 35 - 40 states, no telling how many companies are going to be in trouble... Plus people getting laid off. It's just as disastrous as the Coronavirus health crisis itself! And Knute is spot on with his analysis of White House promises. Like every power figure with authoritarian tendencies - all their promises are worthless... All they do basically is spread disinformation to benefit themselves, none of it true.
Many of us have been looking at proposing some sort of property tax relief to our representatives in Washington DC, to help folks in every single state, red or blue, as unemployment in every state is clearly a direct result of the Coronavirus sweep through all of our states.
Many of us believe that the fastest and easiest way to lessen the financial burden a bit on families suffering from unemployment, or illness, would be property tax relief... property tax breaks such as California Proposition 13 and Proposition 58 offer. Simply mirror those property tax breaks as much as possible. Why not? There is our case study. There is our focus group. California has proven that Prop 13 and Prop 58 & 193 property tax relief works! All we need to do is mirror it. We don't need to re-build the mouse-trap.
I'd say it all starts with quick education. All residential and commercial property owners in every state in America should know how a tax break like CA Proposition 13 works, how it locks in a low 2% tax rate for everyone, middle class or wealthy... As long as you keep the property you inherit from parents… It's all about avoiding property tax reassessment, while putting parent to child transfer, or as your attorney refers to it, "parent to child exclusion", to good use, obviously.
We have a property transfer tax break... a guarantee of a low tax cap on inherited property, forever, for siblings who wish to keep, not sell, inherited property. As well as the ability to buyout co-beneficiaries who want to sell their inherited property to an outside buyer - with Proposition 58. Every state would need to fashion Property tax relief that is similar and can easily be adopted by other states, with loans to irrevocable trusts. Plus the right to transfer parents property taxes when inheriting property, and inheriting property taxes; maintaining the ability to keep parents property taxes with property tax transfers of all types, for homes and businesses.
Every property owner should be able to use a loan to an irrevocable trust to buyout a co-beneficiary's property shares, instead of selling their share of an inherited house to an outside buyer. Keeping yearly taxes on property at ones' parents’ low tax rate, forever. Research starts at the ground floor. Folks in every state should check out the official CA State Board of Equalization Website to read up on Proposition 13, at https://www.boe.ca.gov/ Beneficiaries and property owners should do some research on blogs like https://propertytaxtransfertrusts.com Or go to some other sites focused on property tax transfer, property tax breaks, Proposition 58 & trust loans for Californians, like https://cloanc.com/tag/california-prop-58/ Once you get the lay of the land, next step is to start emailing and calling your representatives in Congress, proposing that they look into creating a bill that would provide property tax relief for everyone in your state. Starting right now, as the Pandemic rages! Imagine millions of property owners doing this. And you tell them flat out - if they don't take this seriously, they can start looking for another job in November!
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