MIDDLE-CLASS CREDIT CRISIS PENDING?
November 21, 2005
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Even as gasoline prices come down from their peaks, other pressures are building on the beleaguered American consumer, especially those at the lower end of the income scale.
“I’m seeing the ‘ouch’ factor everywhere I look,” said Bettye Banks, senior vice president of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. “I hear it at the grocery store. I hear it at the gas station. I hear it in classes that we teach.”
Americans are battling still-high energy prices, slow wage growth, record-high debts and rising interest rates. Their predicament is captured in government data that show, as a whole, consumers have been digging into their savings to make ends meet for four months.
Meanwhile, legislation went into effect in October that’s meant to force more people to pay back at least some of their debts if they file for bankruptcy.
For full article - http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=26686
SOURCE: HispanicBusiness.com / NACBA.com
