SEE OTHER INSTRUCTIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

SEE OTHER INSTRUCTIONS - Essay Example The influence of the church was strong. The level of restraint from the people was perceived to be the strength of the government. The use of personal credit was considered unpopular (Kidwell & Martin, 2005). Therefore, failure to pay debt was viewed to be antagonizing (Mann, 2002). The savings among Americans started to decline as consumerism gained momentum. From 1960, there was more emphasis on fulfilling desires rather than meeting needs. Traditionally, American has viewed personal bankruptcy with contempt and a sense of negativity. In the past, persons petitioning for bankruptcy were imprisoned. The stigma towards bankruptcy has been fading and the public is developing sympathy for people filing for bankruptcy. The trend began in 1960 when dramatic rise in cases of bankruptcy was reported. The change of the public attitude has been attributed to declining morals and shame in the American society. A recent study noted that there has been significant shift from 1960s in terms of public perception towards the persons filing from bankruptcy. In the past, bankruptcy was perceived to the petitioners fault. It was rarely associated with external factors like family dissolution, economic conditions and medical disasters (MÃ ©nard et al, 2011). The public attributed bankruptcy to personal failure like overindulgence and overspending. This was against the traditionally established norms of honor (Kidwell & Martin, 2005). However, government officials, jurists and scholars acknowledge that the traditional perception of stigma has declined. The same was acknowledged by the popular culture report. Few people are expressing remorse for filing for bankruptcy. The petitioners are appearing to project a relaxed attitude. This has been acknowledged by judges and legislators. The stigma was perceived to be a deterrent measure for stigma (Robinson & Murphy, 2009). According to a study published by the New York Times indicated that that unlike