There has been a lot of talk about bankruptcy recently. A bill is winding its way through congress that would make things even more difficult for people facing bankruptcy. Recently, a friend asked me how I was doing and I quipped that I haven't declared bankruptcy yet, although if the current legislation is going to go through, perhaps I should do it soon. Having spent the past couple years working as a volunteer on various political campaigns, doing work for not for profit, and spending a lot of time with startups that have yet to establish sufficient cash flow to be self-sustaining, my finances are a bit tight.

However, bankruptcy is a very unlikely scenario for us. We are healthy. We have health insurance, and there are a lot of exciting prospects on the horizon. However, the bankruptcy bill seems typical of the way some people in Washington treat problems. It addresses the symptoms, but not the causes. Recent research finds that approximately half the people filing for bankruptcy are doing so because of medical expenses. If congress wants to face the bankruptcy problem, they would do well to start with addressing health care. A lot of people don't like the idea of government getting involved in the medicine. To a certain extent, I agree, the government should not be interfering with the relationship between a doctor and a patient. Granted there are exceptions, such as working to limit malpractice, but the government doesn't seem to be focusing enough on that. One of the popular complaints about efforts at achieving universal health care is that people don't want the government choosing their doctors. Yet these same people don't seem to complain a lot about ethically challenged insurance companies choosing their doctors. Some people seem more comfortable with organizations whose primary purpose is to make a profit making these decisions than they are with organizations whose primary purpose is to protect people.

Yet I don't want to minimize the impact of financial bankruptcy. It is a serious problem. However, there are other forms of bankruptcy that need to be addressed. I look at the moral and ethical issues that Tom DeLay is facing, and the phrase 'Moral Bankruptcy' comes to mind. Hopefully, the congress can reorganize out of their mess soon.

At a meeting the other day, I also heard a new phrase, 'Email Bankruptcy'. Some people are getting so much email, that they cannot handle it all. They are declaring 'Email Bankruptcy' and saying that they just cannot respond to all their emails. This is a problem most often faced by successful bloggers, who often also declare 'Blog Bankruptcy'. They just cannot respond to all the comments on their blog.

I am on the road right now, with limited connectivity. I got online briefly last night to find a queue of around 350 unread emails. I imagine that by the time I get back, it will be two or three times that many emails. It seems as if I go through cycles. I am away for a bit, or tied up with other things and my email queue gets up to a thousand unread emails. I then get some time to dig through them and get it back under control, only to get out of control again as I go on another trip, or get tied up with another project.

So, I am filing email Chapter 11. I am reorganizing my email. Subordinated email is unlikely to get any return. Preferred email will get a return, but it may only be seventy or eighty cents on the dollar. I expect that things may get worse before they get better, that is often the case in a Chapter 11 reorganization. However, I do not plan on filing for complete email bankruptcy in the foreseeable future.

As always, comments are appreciated, but if you don't hear from me, I hope you understand why.