You are right it always is preferable, but what if he is using that tractor to put food on his table, and can't lose it or the family will go hungry. Bankruptcy laws exist for a reason. Many of these companies allow people to over extend so much it is insane. I would more than likely be filing bankruptcy if over 50% of my rental portfolio wasn't paid off and my mortgage companies didn't want to work with me. Some states right now you can't sell a home and must make payments while the renters are living for free. He may be in this situation.
You are right it is, but having debt and a China created pandemic that we have never seen before the effects of on a global scale could have never been looked at. I have more than one friend that has lost a spouse a child or parents. I have lost a few employees due to this pandemic. We all have to come together and not say horse dookie like pay your bills, use every method you can to get back on your feet.
When Enron went up in flames they owed us millions. We still had to pay employees that were on contract at their site millions, we had to file bankruptcy. Did I feel bad, was I called a thief, was I told that I needed to right my wrongs, was my life threatened all because we couldn't pay bills? YES! Those of you on your high horse, more power to you, but bankruptcy protection is there for a reason. After mine within 180 days I was back up and running a company and had credit restored and honestly no bad recourse within two years I had more credit than before.