cover image Corporate Welfare: The Megabankruptcies of the 80s and 90s

Corporate Welfare: The Megabankruptcies of the 80s and 90s

Laurence H. Kallen. Carol Publishing Corporation, $24.95 (484pp) ISBN 978-0-8184-0534-1

Once a stigma, bankruptcy, according to this searing account, is today a popular device used by troubled corporations to shield themselves from tax and interest payments, supplier debt, insurance claims, labor agreements, pension obligations and corporate accountability in general. Kallen, former chairman of the Chicago Bar Association's bankruptcy panel, calls bankruptcy reorganization a ``huge hidden welfare program'' that fattens the kitty for management. Citing the compliance of federal bankruptcy judges in a process that leads to years of obstructionist ``union-busting'' and claim-dodging, Kallen predicts that without unlikely action by Congress, large corporations plagued by junk-bond debacles, pollution suits and other woes will clog bankruptcy courts through the decade. (Feb.)