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Avoiding the Hazards of Credit Card Debt

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:48:02 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/02/credit_card_report.html “At a time when American people are being asked to come to the rescue of financial services all over the country […] how can we say ‘we know that [credit card] practices are unfair, but you must wait a year to fix them?’” asked Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) at a Center for American Progress Action Fund event Wednesday morning. At the event, CAPAF Executive Vice President Sarah Wartell presented a new report by Tim Westrich, “Putting Credit Card Debt on Notice,” which she said “offers technological solutions to help customers better manage their debt in the face of increasingly volatile market conditions.” Wartell said that by using technology such as text messaging—or a similarly rapid electronic method—a credit card issuer could provide consumers with helpful information at the moment he or she needs it most. The message, according to Westrich’s report, could provide clear information—including both the event, such as the due date, and the consequence for missing it—a late fee and an increase to the penalty rate. Wartell said that this new method of giving better information should be done in addition to, not as a substitute for, efforts by Rep. Maloney to eliminate the worse problems in the credit card market through legislation. “In conjunction with legislation, these technologies could help stem abuses in the credit card industry,” said Maloney. In December of last year, the Federal Reserve Board finalized regulations that mandated a number of reforms in the credit card industry. These reforms, however, are not slated to take effect until July 2010. Rep. Maloney has introduced a bill—the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act—that moves up the starting date for many of these protections to three months after the bill is signed. These prot

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, bankrupt, cap, credit, debt, fed, financial, mastercard, progress, recession, street, visa, wall

Helping the Economy Recover - ASK THE EXPERT

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:58:03 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/11/economic_snapshot.html What can Congress do to help the economy recover? Why do we need a second stimulus, and how big should it be? How will this spending and investment help the economy recover? Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress adderesses these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bailout, bernanke, bush, congress, credit, debt, economy, ettlinger, invest, market, obama, paulson, progress, progressive, stimulus, street, treasury, wall

Mortgages Are Troubled Assets - Rescuing the Economy

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:09:00 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/11/barr_mortgage_crisis_testimony.html Andrew Jakabovics of the Center for American Progress explains that the about face by Treasury Secretary Henry (Hank) Paulson misses the mark -- the troubled US mortgage markets are the root of the international financial crisis.

By seeprogress

Tags : bush, economy, money, mortgage, paulson, street, subprime, wall

Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President Part 3

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:52:17 GMT

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/changeforamerica/ Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President is a framework to help the next administration steer the government in a new, more progressive direction. In conjunction with the release, we are hosting a series of exciting panels on economic policy, national security, democracy, and climate change led by the authors of the book. Read About the book and download online exclusive chapters thru the link above.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, cap, care, climate, congress, economy, energy, government, health, iraq, obama, president, progress, progressive, security, street, wall, war

Rescuing the Economy: The U Turn

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:35:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/11/restoring_confidence.html Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress offers his thoughts on the Treasury's about face on the economic rescue plan as President-elect Barack Obama and a new Congress will take office in less than 70 days amid the greatest financial market and economic challenges our nation has faced since the Great Depression. The economy is likely in a recession—one that could be a long and deep. We are engaged in two wars overseas. Skyrocketing health care costs are consuming too great a share of our economy and threatening to create an unsustainable national debt. Our continued heavy reliance on fossil fuels exposes our economy to volatile oil prices and supply disruptions as well as the potentially catastrophic costs of climate change in the coming decades. Aggressive action is needed to restore economic confidence and growth. We need action now to stimulate the economy, starting at once and lasting as long as necessary. Immediate government investments can put us on a path to recovery while also speeding the arrival of accessible, affordable health care, an economy powered with clean, sustainable, and secure sources of energy, and an education system that prepares our children for good jobs and keeps good jobs in America. These steps will help the economy through a period of economic weakness and lay the foundation for shared economic growth in the decades to come. These investments in economic stimulus and recovery will contribute to a higher budget deficit in the short term. But we cannot be penny wise and pound foolish. Strong economic growth will do far more to put us on the path of fiscal health than shortchanging needed investments today.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bush, credit, debt, ettlinger, greenspan, invest, market, money, mortgage, paulson, progress, street, subprime, treasury, wall

How's Your Retirement Looking? ASK THE EXPERT

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:56:14 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/10/econ_snapshot.html How has the financial crisis affected Americans' retirement income? Why is it important to make better retirement plans a priority? What would an ideal retirement plan look like? Dr Christian Weller, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, answers these questions in the latest installment of CAP's ASK THE EXPERT series.

By seeprogress

Tags : 401k, bailout, bank, bush, economy, finance, market, money, paulson, retirement, seeprogress, stock, street, wall, weller

Fixing the Credit Markets - Rescuing the Economy

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:40:01 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/economic_recovery.html In these tumultuous days, it is often overlooked that the fate of Wall Street is, in this particular case, especially intertwined with the fortunes of Main Street. The connecting link isn?t just a matter of stock market volatility, but rather underlying problems in the credit markets. Lenders on Wall Street, and those who provide lenders their capital, are unable or unwilling to lend or invest because of the mortgage crisis. If nothing is done, the already large and growing impact on the routine borrowing of businesses will become even more acute. Businesses will face problems meeting payroll, purchasing inventory, and making investments?consequences reaching far beyond Wall Street. Personal credit for auto loans, student loans, credit cards and, of course, mortgages will also become harder to come by. The housing, mortgage, and financial mess have already ensnared the labor market. Jobs have declined for eight consecutive months in total non-farm employment. Not all job loss can be directly linked to the current financial mess, but it is safe to say that job losses have continued and the economy?s ability to mount a recovery is hampered by the turmoil. Since the start of 2008, the economy has lost a total of 605,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate hit 6.1 percent in August 2008, up from 5.0 percent at the end of 2007. The number of unemployed climbed to 9.4 million from 7.6 million over the same period.

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bailout, bank, bush, cnbc, congress, credit, debt, economy, finance, jobs, market, mccain, money, mortgage, paisley, progress, progressive, rescue, seeprogress, street, wall

The Economic Crisis - No Bailout - Now What?

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:16:03 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/conservatives_pain.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/real_solutions.html Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress offers his take on the latest news out of Washington and the financial markets after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President George W. Bush yesterday failed to convince a majority of their own party in Congress that the consequences of failing to pass their $700 billion financial rescue package could be catastrophic for the U.S. economy. The American people over the next few days will catch a glimpse of the consequences in financial markets, at their hometown banks, and at their jobs, but should congressional inaction persist we may not experience the full brunt for a month or more. That?s why these next few days will be so telling. If those who opposed the rescue package in Congress do not feel responsible for the leading edge of the problems they have allowed to grow?as prices fall, borrowing costs rise, and more and more small- to medium-sized companies and financial institutions are unable to access credit?then they are unlikely to change their minds about the bailout plan. If their constituents do not get antsy as the problems of Wall Street start to spread to the companies they work for and to their own access to credit, and they do not demand action?no action may be forthcoming. Will the financial markets spook enough of the dissenters to change their vote on the bill, which fell only 12 votes shy of passage? That probably depends most immediately on how dramatic the reaction is in the commercial paper market, which was largely done with trading yesterday before the bailout bill went down to defeat. This vital credit marketplace?where companies tap short-term credit to smooth out their cash flow needs to make payroll and pay suppliers in a timely fashion?could react sharply today. This morning?s record high for the benchmark

By seeprogress

Tags : bailout, bank, bush, congress, credit, debt, economy, lending, market, mccain, money, mortgage, obama, paulson, pelosi, republican, rescue, street, subprime, taxpayer, wall

An Economic Bailout Done Right -Center for American Progress

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:12:02 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/fair_effective_graphic.html http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/handle_with_care.html U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson?s initial proposal for the giant Wall Street bailout would have given him, as secretary of the Treasury, the personal authority to spend $700 billion of taxpayers? money to buy troubled financial assets on any terms he saw fit. He would then be authorized to sell these assets, also without limitation. Under his proposal, his actions are explicitly exempted from review by any court or administrative body. Congress appears to be moving Paulson off these extreme terms, but any final deal should rest meaningful control, true decision-making authority, not in one person and certainly not with the secretary of the Treasury of an administration that, in large part, authored this crisis. Paulson along with the rest of the Bush economic policy apparatus?and in fact all of those who are ideologically resistant to a role for government in the economy?are deeply implicated in the mess we?re in. Whether we call it incompetence, gross negligence or ideology run amok, no action was taken as the economy, and the financial sector in particular, grew more and more dependent on a mass of untenable loans in over-valued assets. Since that bubble began to burst they have dragged their feet in taking the kind of comprehensive action that?s been needed?resisting congressional attempts to fix the housing market and calls by the Center for American Progress, among others, to jump in to stop the bleeding before it ever reached this stage. More aggressive action has been needed for months to preserve the value of homes for the benefit of homeowners, to protect the value which underlies the mortgage-related assets in the hands of investors, and to prevent the loss of so much value in our overall economy.

By seeprogress

Tags : bailout, bernanke, billion, bush, congress, credit, crisis, debt, economy, estate, foreclosure, housing, mortgage, paulson, real, street, wall

Resucing the Economy - Neither Fair Nor Effective

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:22:02 GMT

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/fair_nor_effective.html Ed Paisley of the Center for American Progress shares his thoughts on the unprecedented economic bailout being planned by the federal government. Unless U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson?s first stab at a $700 billion rescue of the global financial system is revised to incorporate restructuring troubled mortgages, it will be neither fair nor effective. Paulson?s draft legislation attempts to rescue the balance sheets of Wall Street but does almost nothing for homeowners on Main Street. That?s a fundamental flaw. The U.S. housing market won't recover without restructuring of underlying mortgages that are troubled. Global credit markets will not respond to this exceedingly expensive plan unless we get our fundamentals right. Moreover, taxpayers will be saddled with increasingly worthless paper as many of the underlying mortgages fail. The Paulson plan demonstrates a disturbing disconnect between the ?mortgage-related assets? that taxpayers? $700 billion is being used to purchase and the necessary restructuring of the troubled mortgages themselves. Many hard-working Americans are having trouble paying on their mortgages, which in turn is driving down the value of their neighbors? homes across the country. Tens of millions of families have seen their home values plunge through no fault of their own. Nearly 1 in 10 American households?roughly 5 million?have a mortgage that is either in default or facing foreclosure. These are the families still struggling to pay their mortgage even after the earliest subprime borrowers have already lost their homes. Without provisions expressly aimed at helping these borrowers restructure their mortgages with the assistance of the federal government or through judicial modification, this grand plan to buy "toxic" assets from the financial institutions that engineered this market meltdown will not help the U.S. housing market rec

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, credit, debt, economy, fed, lehman, merrill, money, mortgage, progress, progressive, street, subprime, wall

Fmr Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on Economic Crisis & Conservative Ideology

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:25:07 GMT

Since the late 1970s and building through the era of Ronald Reagan, there has been an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of supply-side economics. Lehman Brothers = bankrupt. Merrill Lynch = sold. Fannie Mac & Freddie Mac = in crisis. Bear Stearns = failed. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers appeared at the Center for American Progress to discuss the current economic crisis facing middle class America and the trickle down economic theory espoused by conservatives. Do tax cuts spur economic growth and pay for themselves with higher revenues on additional economic activity stimulated? This debate will be revived in the coming year as the incoming President and Congress will soon decide whether to renew of a variety of tax cuts adopted starting in 2001 and set to expire in 2010. Economists now have years of experience with this tax policy. What does the evidence show us? What has been the public debate about tax policy and supply-side and has it shifted in light of growing inequality and limited sharing of the benefits of economic growth?

By seeprogress

Tags : american, bank, bush, cap, class, debt, down, economy, finance, irs, lehman, mccain, merrill, middle, money, progress, progressive, seeprogress, stock, street, summers, tax, trickle, wall

Economic Worries - ASK THE EXPERT - CAP's Christian Weller

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:09 GMT

Since the beginning of the current business cycle in early 2001, family incomes in the United States have not risen, yet the costs for important consumer items such as housing, health care, transportation, energy, and food all climbed at often breathtaking speeds. To afford these necessities, families piled on record amounts of debt relative to their income?at a rate more than four times faster than that in the 1990s. Families, though, were not the only ones going deeper into debt. The federal government ran up large budget deficits due to massive tax cuts for the rich and a spending spree for an ill-designed Medicare prescription drug benefit and two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since March 2001, foreign investors financed close to 80 percent of the federal budget deficit. More importantly, these large capital inflows financed a massive U.S. trade deficit that still remains at an unsustainable 5 percent of gross domestic product. To finance this deficit, the U.S. economy borrowed heavily overseas, selling everything to foreign investors, including home mortgages. The result: a vicious cycle of debt, with foreign investors fueling a housing market boom that required households to borrow money that foreigners were willing to borrow. This process is now going into reverse. Stock market investors are selling off shares tied however tenuously to the U.S. housing market, thus fueling the financial markets downturn. This sell off is also increasing worries about a broader credit crunch that could lead to further deterioration in the U.S. housing market. The largest drawback of the debt boom was that it let U.S. policymakers get away with not addressing the country's underlying economic problems. The fundamental weaknesses of the U.S. economy?a weak labor market, large budget deficits, and massive trade deficits, and an unsustainable housing boom?were masked by record amounts of debt, allowing the federal government to continuously ignore these problems. Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Chris

By seeprogress

Tags : bernanke, bush, credit, debt, deficit, dollar, economy, market, recession, street, treasury, wall

The R Word - What do YOU think about the US Economy?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:03 GMT

American families are feeling the pressure of a tightening economy from all sides. They are burdened with massive amounts of debt that have become harder to handle due to accelerated house price drops and the stagflationary nature of the downturn. Jobs are going away, wages are flat, and benefits are disappearing, while prices are skyrocketing everywhere. Just like a balloon squeezed from all sides, family finances are increasingly being burst. And the overall economic outlook doesn't help. Massive trade deficits pose a drain on our national resources, slowing innovation means that we are generating less of what we need, and long-term budget deficits due to tax cuts for the rich are preventing the government from addressing the economic needs of America's families. THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.americanprogress.org

By seeprogress

Tags : bernanke, budget, bush, credit, debt, economy, fed, finance, foreclosure, mortgage, recession, subprime, wall