Monday, February 2, 2009

Left Out in the Cold

The New Times of Broward-Palm Beach posted an item Monday that shows the ripple effect of a bankruptcy filing (see it here blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice). Tribune apparently owes some off duty police officers and the city of Fort Lauderdale more than $800 for past services related to last year's Sun-Sentinel-sponsored CityLink Beer Fest.

In the big picture scheme of things, 800 bucks is nothing. But you have to put this in the context of thousands of what Queen of Mean Leona Helmsley called "the little people" getting stiffed because of Tribune's bankruptcy filing last December.

$800 here and $800 there -- Fort Lauderdale today, Hartford tomorrow -- and pretty soon you've got big money. The city of Fort Lauderdale and the off-duty officers have no recourse but to go to the back of the line, along with hundreds of other unsecured creditors, and hope they will someday get paid -- pennies on the dollar.

It's not right, but we all know life ain't fair.




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