Older Americans rely on credit cards as their financial safety net and pay down less of their debt than younger consumers, a new study shows.
Last year, the low- and middle-income 50-plus population had an average credit card balance of $8,278, compared with the younger generation's balance of $6,258, according to research conducted by Demos, a liberal public policy organization on behalf of AARP.
Tonight on NBC Nightly News, Chris Jansing reports on a new study that shows Americans age 50 and older are carrying an average of $8278 in credit card debt, thousands more than younger people. In addition, nearly 18 percent of those nearing retirement said they are using their retirement funds to pay down credit card debt.
AARP announced a major policy and research initiative Tuesday drawing attention to the economic decline of the American middle class. In the run-up to what will surely be a bruising Congressional battle over Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other federal benefit programs, the powerful seniors' group said it would push for strengthened supports for all generations.
The head of AARP warned Tuesday that cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security would jeopardize the retirement security of many seniors.
A. Barry Rand, in a speech at the National Press Club, laid out his group's agenda as Washington heads into another showdown over the debt ceiling.
Rand repeated AARP's opposition to moving to the so-called chained consumer price index (CPI), calling it "one of the worst" ways to reduce spending in Social Security.
AARP CEO A. Barry Rand called for renewed focus on strengthening Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in a speech today at the National Press Club. Rand discussed findings from AARP Public Policy Institute's newly released "Middle Class Security Project," which studies how middle class working Americans struggle - and often fail - to build and maintain retirement security.
Adrift on a sea of red ink, more middle class Americans are feeling queasy about their retirement plans. And many of those struggling to save have very little time to right the ship.
Perhaps the most breathtakingly obscene aspect of American society is our absolute and utter refusal to deal with the murderous gun violence that lays its awful blanket of blood and sorrow across the families of thousands upon thousands of victims each and every year.
The Co-Chairs of the Massachusetts Special Joint Committee on Redistricting today issued a report reviewing their accomplishments and their recommendations on issues they discovered while redrawing the Massachusetts district lines.
Even though the ads are gone and the election season is over (for now), the distorting impact of all that ad money permeates our entire political process.
WASHINGTON – A new analysis of data through Election Day from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and other sources by U.S. PIRG and Demos shows that just 61 large donors to Super PACs giving an average of $4.7 million each matched the $285.2 million in grassroots contributions from more than 1,425,500 small donors to the two major-party presidential candidates.
NEW YORK -- Today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will review the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark law in the advancement of voting rights.
In response to this decision, Vice President for Legal Strategies Brenda Wright released the following statement:
WASHINGTON -- More than half of the nation's 400 richest citizens have contributed money to help elect President Barack Obama or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to the White House. These members of the Forbes 400, who boast a combined net worth of $1.7 trillion -- more than 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product -- have donated more to affect the outcome of the presidential race than ever before.
NEW YORK -- Nearly 9 in 10 Americans agree that there is way too much corporate money in politics, and 51 percent strongly agree, according to a new poll released today by the Corporate Reform Coalition. The survey, conducted by Bannon Communications, found overwhelming support for strong, common sense reforms to ensure transparency and accountability for corporate political spending.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Civil and voting rights groups today commended Clear Channel Corporation for agreeing to take down a number of billboards placed in predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods in Cleveland, Columbus, and Milwaukee. The groups had mounted a campaign over the past week to persuade Clear Channel to take down the billboards, which warned of criminal penalties for voter fraud and were designed to stigmatize and intimidate minority voters. The billboards were anonymously financed.
COLUMBUS, OH – Voting rights, civil rights and labor organizations are joining forces to erect get-out-and-vote billboards in four Ohio and Wisconsin cities this week, pushing back against an anonymously-financed billboard campaign aimed at intimidating voters and depressing voter turnout.
Kimberly Kelley of Tampa has provided Florida elections officials with thousands of names of people she thinks may be ineligible to vote and should be removed from the rolls. On Election Day, she’ll join thousands more — people of all political stripes — to monitor balloting.
“I believe there is fraud both ways. I don’t think it’s a specific group,” said Kelley, a registered Republican whose group is called Tampa Vote Fair. “We’re just there to observe. We’re not going to intimidate anyone.”
At a minimum, we can expect “poll-watchers” to come up with enough “documented” examples of “voter fraud” to support a general post-election effort to de-legitimize the results.