Tightening Your Belt: Inequities and Inconsistencies Regarding the Treatment of Food, Prescription Drugs, and Cigarettes In the United States Bankruptcy Code

Tightening Your Belt: Inequities and Inconsistencies Regarding the Treatment of Food, Prescription Drugs, and Cigarettes In the United States Bankruptcy Code

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Tightening Your Belt: Inequities and Inconsistencies Regarding the Treatment of Food, Prescription Drugs, and Cigarettes In the United States Bankruptcy Code

dc.contributor.advisor	Peter Hutt	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bramson, Jeffrey Scott
dc.date.accessioned	2012-05-18T20:53:21Z
dc.date.issued	2011
dc.identifier.citation	Jeffrey Scott Bramson, Tightening Your Belt: Inequities and Inconsistencies Regarding the Treatment of Food, Prescription Drugs, and Cigarettes In the United States Bankruptcy Code (April 2011)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8789563
dc.description.abstract	Debtors seeking to file bankruptcy may do so under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. In either case, the bankruptcy system must determine what expenses will be allowed for the debtor in bankruptcy, including for substances such as food, drugs, and cigarettes. This paper examines the treatment of these three substances by the Bankruptcy Code and judges, based on the three standards that appear in the Code: (1) what is allowed by the IRS National Standards, (2) what would constitute “abuse” of the system, and (3) what expenses are “reasonably necessary.” We then discuss five adverse effects that result from these provisions, including horizontal inequities between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, unfair geographical variations, vertical inequities between wealthier and poorer debtors, inconsistent judicial application of the rules, and inconsistency between the bankruptcy regime and other federal agencies and priorities.	en_US
dash.license	LAA
dc.subject	miscellaneous	en_US
dc.subject.other	Food and Drug Law	en_US
dc.title	Tightening Your Belt: Inequities and Inconsistencies Regarding the Treatment of Food, Prescription Drugs, and Cigarettes In the United States Bankruptcy Code	en_US
dc.type	Paper (for course/seminar/workshop)	en_US
dc.date.available	2012-05-18T20:53:21Z