Word: deadbeats
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Financial calamity beckons even now. A total of $3.3 billion in unpaid assessments is owed by all countries but one, with the U.S. the biggest deadbeat. Washington's arrears amount to $1.4 billion, or nearly a third of the U.N.'s combined budgets of $4.5 billion. The U.S. Congress's Republican majority has withheld payments as a gesture of contempt for the U.N.'s perceived wastefulness. America's 31% budget share may be too high, but the U.N. was justifiably stunned when Congress unilaterally slashed the levy to 25%. This month in the General Assembly, a parade of Uncle...
Imagine tough-tender Chili's delight when the demands of business and the dictates of pleasure combine in the form of a trip to Tinseltown to collect some overdue debts. His pursuit of one deadbeat provides him with a pitchable story idea, while the pursuit of another one brings him into the presence of a producer and a star who, in his naivete, he thinks may be able to help him. Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman) may be a schlockmeister down on his luck, and Karen Flores (Rene Russo) may be famous mainly for the authentic terror with which she invests...
...offer one villain by consensus, it is the deadbeat dad, that selfish fugitive condemned by liberals and conservatives alike for his irresponsible behavior and generous contributions to the cycle of welfare dependency. The Clinton Administration has taken aim at him (or her- around 5% of the deadbeats are moms), opening up the military's personnel files to collection efforts and pushing a national registry of parents' obligations. It also championed provisions, which passed the House of Representatives last week, that require states to revoke driving and professional licenses for nonpayment and apply property liens across state lines. At week...
...average bill collector. Armed with a court order, investigators can often convince authorities to garnish wages, attach bank accounts or even foreclose on real estate. The provisions passed by the House last week could "give us additional tools to work with,'' Hoffman says. Sometimes the collectors simply shame the deadbeat, plastering his neighborhood with wanted posters or--in a case near Fort Worth--posting his name on a highway billboard. The ultimate threat is jail time...
Most of the private collection firms claim a recovery rate of more than 60%, but there is a downside. Ads in magazines such as Income Plus that shout MAKE A FORTUNE COLLECTING PAST-DUE CHILD SUPPORT FROM DEADBEAT PARENTS have drawn their share of fools and charlatans to a business that is thus far unregulated under laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Ron Dusek, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's office, warns that some companies have misrepresented themselves, or swallowed up-front fees and then done nothing. Agrees Wayne Doss, director of Los Angeles County...