Prof. Samuel D. Bornstein

Solving the Housing Crisis in Bankruptcy Court

I agree with the proposal, which was originally proposed by Senator Durbin, to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in foreclosure, but I am coming at it from a different direction.

I recently concluded a national survey which was conducted by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). The survey results confirmed my research that these small business owners (16.2 million in 2007 according to the SBA) fell prey to the "toxic" mortgages that are expected to "Reset" in 2009 and may result in foreclosure. It is a tragedy when a homeowner loses his/her home, but the tragedy is magnified when that homeowner is also a small business owner employing 1-10 employees.

I believe that these small business owners should have priority as their mortgages are modified because these small business hold the fate of our economy. As small business goes, so goes our economy.