Political Quotes

“If we are going to have real bankruptcy reform, then shouldn't we have some consistency? The poor person I mentioned earlier who goes into court suffering from a predatory lender and is about to lose her home, for which she saved for a lifetime, is not going to have the same advantages that this actor and this commissioner of baseball had when it comes to a homestead exemption. If it is real bankruptcy reform, it should address all levels of income in this country. It should be fair to every one. This bill is not. O.J. Simpson filed for bankruptcy after being ordered by the court to pay a $33.5 million judgment. He got to keep his $650,000 Los Angeles home. These poor people I talked about in Chicago who are about to lose their little home over predatory lenders don't have the advantage O.J. Simpson had in California. That isn't fair. Actor Burt Reynolds' home was worth $2.5 million. He got to keep that. Onetime corporate raider Paul A. Bilzerian kept his extravagant 11-bedroom, 36,000 square foot estate, the largest in the Tampa Bay area. It had a basketball court, movie theater, nine-car garage, elevator, and it was worth $5 million. Because Florida law is very generous to wealthy people filing for bankruptcy, he was able to keep his home. The person I talked about in the city of Chicago didn't have that benefit.”