Who Gets Hurt In A Bankruptcy

Running a business is hard enough. You must service your customers; you must find a way to draw them to your store; you have competitors who want your customers; you must manage your employees and the larger you get, you must offer wages and benefits. Then there are the government regulations and taxes and permits, and construction outside your door, and insurance for fire and earthquakes. Then there are the bankers who will loan you all sorts of money when times are good, but will not share a farthing in bad times.

Then if things go bad and bankruptcy is the only answer look at how many people get hurt through little fault of their own. For example Furniture Brand is seeking bankruptcy. Just look at the creditors who will lose substantial amounts of money:

The creditors are:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., claim amount unlisted, but the company’s most recent quarterly report listed the pension obligation at $208.7 million;
Kasen Group, $2.62 million;
LF Products PTE, $2.1 million;
Zhejiang Ausen Industry Co., $1.6 million;
Yash Technologies, $1.5 million;
Haining Nicelink Furniture, $1.4 million;
Stein Fibers, $1.02 million;
Horizon Retail Construction, $987,362;
Watkins & Shepard, $925,906;
Zhongwang Holding Group, $916,569;
Nippon Yusen Kabushi, $820,750;
Ningbo Furniture Inds., $820,416;
Penske Truck Leasing, $793,299;
World Design International, $745,252;
Rocktenn Co., $693,965;
Shayne International, $611,787;
Golden Fortune Co., $602,840;
Leggett & Platt, $598,077;
Dongguan Yihao Furniture Co., $591,236;
Culp, $586,454;
Nihao Furniture Manufacturing, $582,892;
Omexey Home Furnishing Corp., $554,872;
Donord Craft, $543,723;
Tongxiang Longxiang Trading Co., $522,773;
Standard Register Co., $509,962;
Independent Furniture Suppply, $478,513;
Duke Energy, $466,242;
Yang Ming Marine Transport, $463,760;
Hamilton Park, unliquidated;
Randy Murphy and Dave Shaffer, dba Southwest Furniture Brokers, unliquidated.

Everyone of those companies will lose in some way. If business can be so risky, why does our government make it harder to succeed?