Big jump in bankruptcies

With all the attention focused on the big boys (GM, Chrysler, Circuit City, etc.), it's easy to forget that individuals and businesses seek bankruptcy protection too - and in some ways they are more emblematic of the recession. As posted by the OC Register's Jan Norman, L.A. County filings for May jumped 72 percent from a year earlier. OC had a 61.6 percent increase. Nationally, the May numbers were only 37 percent higher than a year earlier. Experts estimate that businesses make up about 18 percent of those filings. Bankruptcy activity tends to be active in California because the state continues to be such an entrepreneurial hotspot. A recession as severe as this one is bound to skew the scorecard (the credit crunch has been a real killer). More bankruptcies also mean less tax revenue being generated, which is a big reason why the state deficit is so high.