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DEMOS, a New York-based public policy group that studies economic opportunity issues, and the Center for Responsible Lending, a Washington policy group focused on predatory lending, said low- and middle-income families fall into credit card debt to cope with income declines or unexpected costs.
According to the survey, 48 percent of respondents said they used credit cards to pay for car repairs while 38 percent reported paying for home repairs with plastic.
Washington, DC — American families are turning to credit cards to make ends meet in an increasingly volatile economy, according to The Plastic Safety Net: The Reality Behind Credit Card Debt in America, a new report released today by Demos and Center for Responsible Lending.
Washington, DC — On Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at the National Press Club in Washington DC, leading policy research and advocacy groups Demos, the Center for Responsible Lending and AARP will release findings from a new national survey of household debt in a report entitled The Plastic Safety Net: the Reality of Household Debt in America.
Eighteen- to 24-year-olds have an average $2,985 in credit card debt, according to last year's Demos USA study, "Generation Broke." The average plastic debt for 25- to 34-year-olds is $4,088.
New York, NY/Washington, DC — Today, Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and John Lewis (D-GA), and 28 other leading members of Congress have called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to take immediate action to enforce Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). Section 7 requires that public assistance agencies, such as family assistance, Medicaid and disability services offices, offer applicants and clients the opportunity to register to vote.
Steve Carbo, of the Democracy Project, a New York-based advocacy group that pushed for broader voter registration, said Iowa did far better than many states in implementing the provision.
Voter registration among the disabled and elderly in Iowa increased eight-fold between the 2000 and 2004 elections, Secretary of State Chet Culver said Wednesday.
Des Moines, Iowa — Today, national voting rights groups ACORN, Demos, and Project Vote released a report highlighting Iowa's "best practices" for offering voter registration in human services agencies offices, as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The new study, A Promise Unfulfilled: Ten Years Later, finds most states noncompliant with this NVRA requirement, known as "Section 7", more than a decade after it was passed into law.
People ages 45 to 59 are the most likely to refinance, according to Demos, a nonprofit public-policy organization in New York City.
The real estate bubble will eventually burst, says Cary Silvers, vice president of New York City--based GfK NOP, a market-research company that in 2004 gathered information on boomers' attitudes toward refinancing.
When an appraiser overvalues a home that can lead to an upside down mortgage where you end up owing more than the property is worth. "This is a major problem," says David Callahan, with an advocacy group called Demos that recently looked into just how widespread the problem is.
Appraisal experts and consumer advocates alike are now sounding an alarm about a startling problem that could have you borrowing more than your home's actual value.