So many people in Southeast Michigan are out of work and unable to make ends meet that they're willing to consider any advice they can get just to stay afloat. Bankruptcy, Debt-Consolidation, Credit Counseling and Credit Repair are all things they look at as they struggle with increasing bills, unemployment, decreasing incomes and plummeting property values.

A recent advertisement in the Oakland Press caught my attention. Radio-Talk Show Host and Entertainer Dave Ramsey is coming to Detroit, with his Total Money Makeover show. Described as "empowering" and "entertaining," his web site promises that for the $45.00 price of a ticket, you will also get "motivated."

As a Michigan Bankruptcy Lawyer, I have discussed why I think Ramsey's ideas about financial freedom, debt elimination and avoiding Bankruptcy simply do not, and cannot, apply to the vast majority of those in Michigan, particularly those in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties. I have taken a critical (and yes, to a degree, self-serving) view of "The Anti-Bankruptcy Business," because in the end, persuading people to keep paying on bills they cannot afford is a big, profitable business in it's own right.

Ramsey generally advises against Bankruptcy. This, of course, misses the point that he once got rid of all his debt by filing for Bankruptcy. Ramsey suggests, instead, that debt be paid off by doubling or tripling payments on certain credit cards and other bills, and that you should get a second job if you need the extra income to manage with those payments.

Too bad all the unemployed workers in Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate in country, don't just simply follow his advice and go out and get a job or two. After all, anyone wanting a second job, much less a first one, simply has to apply for it, right?

Has this guy been living on the same planet as the rest of us? How can anyone who is struggling to make ends meet and coming up short manage to focus on paying off debts when they can barely, if at all, make the minimum payments?

To get the full benefit of Ramsey's wisdom, you can log into his store and buy any of his many programs, from the $229 home-study course, or his $129 13 week class-in-a-box, to any of his budgeting tools or books. They're all there, for sale.

One thing becomes clear right away; if you file for Bankruptcy, Ramsey loses a sale, or a bunch of sales. He is not a lawyer; presumably, he hired one to handle his own Bankruptcy. Thus, Bankruptcy is a debt solution from which he cannot profit.

All of this makes me wonder how much someone can expect to learn at Ramsey's show. My bet is that Ramsey will "motivate" and "inspire" a lot of sales of his various materials. I likewise doubt that many, if any, people will leave with all the information they need to get out of debt forever. In fact, I think the first thing anyone who gets sucked into this "system" will do is go and increase their debt by buying some of Ramsey's books and videos and other stuff.

Nor am I alone in finding fault with Ramsey. Just Google the term "Dave Ramsey bad advice" and hang on to your hat! Perhaps the most well informed, best spoken critic of both Ramsey and many of the other financial guru's who are getting rich peddling their books and products is the Blogger who maintains the Badmoneyadvice.com site.

In order to get the benefit of Ramsey's wisdom, you have to become a student of his "Financial Peace University." And underlying all that wisdom is having enough money left over, after you pay all your living expenses, to start dividing it up amongst your debts. It's pretty hard to make a plan to pay this, pay that, pay more here and even more there, when there's not enough money to do it.

Now, if Ramsey could show us how to put $500 in a box with some magic powder and make it turn into $1000, then he would be able to offer the People of Michigan something that they could actually use, and a plan that could actually work.