1. Do you think that the law favors debtors at the expense of creditors or vice versa? Is there any way to achieve a better balance between the interests of creditors and those of debtors?

2. So long as a breach of the peace does not result, a lender may repossess goods on the debtor’s default under the self-help provision of Article 9. Do you think that debtors have a right to be told in advance about a planned repossession? Some observers argue that the self-help remedy under Article 9 should be abolished. Do you agree? Why or why not?

3. Is it unethical to avoid paying one’s debts by going into bankruptcy? Does a person have a moral responsibility to pay his or her debts? Discuss.

4. Are borrowers better off as a result of the bankruptcy reform legislation? Why or why not?

5. How does minimizing business or personal debt help prevent bankruptcies in a recession?

We have certainly come a long way from the period in our history when debtors’ prisons existed. Today, debtors are in a much more favorable position—they can file for protection under bankruptcy law. Indeed, after the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 was passed, some claimed that we had gone too far toward protecting debtors and had made it too easy for them to avoid paying what they legally owed. Critics of the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act were concerned that the pendulum had swung too far in the opposite direction—favoring creditors’ interests and making it too difficult for debtors to obtain a fresh start. Clearly, it is hard to protect the rights of both debtors and creditors at the same time, and laws governing debtor-creditor relationships have traditionally been perceived, by one group or another, as being unfair.