Back in February, you were employed, looking at possible raises in 2020, and the future seemed bright.

Now as July finishes up, you've been unemployed for 5 months, unemployment is drying up, the $600 per week bonus appears to be gone, and the prospects for the future look dim. At best, according to political suggestions this week, you may qualify for 70% of what your old weekly salary was (with a $500 cap)...and experts say most states won't be able to roll that out for weeks, if not months.  Until then, they say, good luck....and here's an extra $200 a week.

The new stimulus package being promoted, is called the HEALS act (an acronym for Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act)...and until it can be rolled out, the plan calls for two months where unemployment beneficiaries would receive a flat $200 a week on top of what they would otherwise receive at the state level.  If and when the HEALS act would actually begin, recipients (if still unemployed), could receive up to 70% of their old salary (with a $500/week cap).  See the story here. 

Most families admittedly were already living paycheck to paycheck, and this new package ultimately tells them they'll need to get by with even less.  The fact remains that the vast majority of Tennesseeans were unprepared for a crisis such as this, the goal posts keep getting moved, and as the money tap is now slowly being turned off...bank accounts will dwindle, debts will continue to mount, and bill collectors will be coming out with guns ablaze. 

Smart families should be preparing to take legal steps now. 

If you already feel your financial situation is out of control...contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION for debt resolution and/or bankruptcy at (731) 423-1888. The law office of T. Verner Smith has helped thousands overcome financial problems, and can help you too. Call today! 

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Despite most of the nation's school systems moving toward reopening soon, there has been some push back of late, including Florida largest teachers union filing a lawsuit. 

Earlier this week, the Florida Education Association is accusing the Governor and other state officials of violating the state's constitutional mandate to keep public schools 'safe and secure'.  In legal paperwork filed in Miami, the union is asking the state court to halt the schools' reopening. 

Florida is struggling with a recent surge in new cases, starting this week with 10,000+ per day, and teachers say they are fearful for their own health.  

Some school systems in Texas have pushed their opening date from mid August to late August, and other school systems nationwide are straddling the fence as well. 

Locally, the Jackson TN NAACP has announced their opposition to the current August 24th start date, stating:
“Tennessee has been identified as one of the states on the rise with COVID-19. Because of the recent local increase of infections and deaths, our students, teachers, staff and their families would be at risk. We encourage school administration, elected leaders and health department officials, to rethink their position of returning to schools and instead prepare teachers, parents and students for virtual on-line learning until this virus is under control. Saving lives should be our number one goal.”

As schools go....so do households. If school systems struggle to open, are delayed in opening, or households are forced to educate their children from home, the effects will be immediate and personal. Most homes will be affected financially, creating additional hardships. The continuing pandemic is creating a ripple effect that will be felt for weeks, if not months, or years. 

If you already feel your financial situation is out of control...contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION for debt resolution and/or bankruptcy at (731) 423-1888. The law office of T. Verner Smith has helped thousands overcome financial problems, and can help you too. Call today! 
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According to at least one on-line article, the current unemployment rate is nearly DOUBLE what they say it is. 

In an article written earlier this week (here), the author says "the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't actually count the number of people who are employed/unemployed; they rely on a sampling survey of employers, which is more like an election poll than an actual measurement."

He goes on to say that the data collectors "ignore the 14.3 million contract/gig workers who are currently drawing emergency Federal unemployment via Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and the 936,000 in the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program."

Additionally, he writes "...even the 21% real-world unemployment rate doesn't reflect the full unemployment picture (which should include) previously full-time workers who have had their hours cut to part-time." He notes those tabulations aren't figured into the totals at all, yet they do exist. 

And finally, a group that is often left out of the unemployment picture are small business owners who have closed. Those who are incorporated and paid unemployment insurance on THEMSELVES qualify for unemployment, HOWEVER, many owners didn't pay themselves as employees - and their status is uncertain and uncounted.  

Ultimately, as the article clearly notes, while an unemployment figure of 12% is more than triple what it was less than 6 months ago...the ACTUAL number is much worse than reported. 

If you already feel your financial situation is out of control...contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION for debt resolution and/or bankruptcy at (731) 423-1888. The law office of T. Verner Smith has helped thousands overcome financial problems, and can help you too. Call today! 

While social media chatter and the news media quickly point to 'false positive' virus results, there is seldom if ever any mention of 'false negative' results...and those are the ones we should be really concerned about.

To be clear, a large number of 'false positive'​ results may inflate figures, and at worst; cause diagnosed patients to be quarantined unnecessarily. However, a large number of 'false negative' results allows truly infected people to unknowingly continue infecting others. False 'negatives' are where we need to be focused.

How common are 'false negative' results, compared to 'false positives'?

According to the most recent news stories, the FDA warned that one test could be generating up to 3% FALSE POSITIVES (story here).  By contrast, Johns Hopkins University warns that some tests could be delivering FALSE NEGATIVES in as many as 20% of the cases, depending on when the test is administered (story here).

To add even more concern, of the 200 tests currently available on the market, more than 30 of them have been ordered to stop distribution as they have been deemed ineffective. (story here)

If the researchers at Johns Hopkins are correct, and as many as 20% of the truly infected are being missed...the numbers are considerably higher than we are being told, and the end result is a prolonged medical, societal, and economic battle that could last much longer than we expected.  To quote one researcher, "This pandemic is far from over...we're just at the beginning of it." (story here).

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, families are continuing to struggle with financial problems caused by layoffs, business closings, a negatively impacted economy, and (quite frankly) a lack of preparation for the chance of a rainy day. But in fairness, who could have predicted anything like this?

If you already feel your financial situation is out of control...contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION for debt resolution and/or bankruptcy at (731) 423-1888. The law office of T. Verner Smith has helped thousands overcome financial problems, and can help you too. Call today! 

As COVID-19's economic fallout continues, a new survey has found that 32% of U.S. households have not made their July house payment yet. The survey was conducted by Apartment List, an online rental platform.
 
This is the fourth month in a row that a serious number of American households have been unable to make their house payment or rental payment in full and on time. 30% reported being unable to pay in full and on time in June...31% reported the same in May, and 26% in April.
 
The survey's organizers said, “The economic fallout from the pandemic does not appear on track for the quick V-shaped recovery that many had originally hoped for.  Additionally, the continued COVID-19  recession has more Americans worried about foreclosures and evictions.

Renters are the most vulnerable. 36% of renters have missed their July housing payment, compared to 30% of homeowners.
 
As most households spent their one-time stimulus check long ago, and with the extra $600 per week in unemployment insurance runs out at the end of July...even more households will likely miss their rent or mortgage payments in upcoming months.  See the survey here.

If you already feel your financial situation is out of control...contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION for debt resolution and/or bankruptcy at (731) 423-1888. The law office of T. Verner Smith has helped thousands overcome financial problems, and can help you too. Call today! ​