I recognize that some folks dislike the idea of a CFPA. Indeed, it may well feel like just another bureaucracy–and sometimes it seems that our country is awash in the doggone things. Why in the world would we want another one? I think there are many good reasons for a CFPA, and not the least of which is discussed in a paper I recently published in Journal of Family and Economic Issues ("Extreme Financial Strain: Emergent Chores Gender Inequality, and Emotional Distress").
Author: Debb Thorne
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Does a Tarnished Credit Report Equal an Untrustworthy Employee?
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Last week, the NYT ran a piece describing how common it has become for employers to use the credit report as a screen device for job applicants ("Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries"). In a nutshell, if your credit report shows too much debt, a bankruptcy, or a low credit score, employers don't want you.
Based on some of the employers' comments in the article, there seems to be a widespread belief that a tarnished credit report necessarily results from "bad decision making" and that it is evidence that an employee is "unreliable, unwise or too susceptible to temptation to steal."
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Link to Full Medical Bankruptcy Article
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On June 5, CBS ran a story, “Medical Debt Huge Bankruptcy Culprit.” CBS News story. Not only is it an interesting write up, but there is a link to our (Himmelstein, Thorne, Warren and Woolhandler) full article, “Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a National Study.” Full text of research article. So if you are interested, you can read the article in its entirety.
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The latest Consumer Bankruptcy Project publication: Medical Bankruptcies
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Along with my co-authors (Himmelstein, Warren and Woolhandler), I would like to share with the readers of Credit Slips some of the highlights of our most recent publication from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project 2007: "Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a National Study." (Published June 4, 2009, by The American Journal of Medicine.)
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Thorne’s Post to the NYT’s blog, “Room for Debate”
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A
couple days ago, I was asked to write up a comment/response to the following statement for the NYT’s blog,
“Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News”:“As
Congress and federal regulators move to limit how much banks can charge credit
card holders who’ve fallen behind on payments, banks are starting to think
about making up the lost income by going after those with good
credit – like reviving annual fees and eliminating or reducing grace
periods for paying off card debt. We asked some experts, should responsible
card users (those who typically pay off their monthly charges) bear the cost of
credit card services as revenues decline from those with credit problems? Would
that shift penalize habits of thrift?”For
what it’s worth, my response is written below. After listening to the stories
of indebted Americans for the past decade, I have had it up to here with the
portrayals of them as irresponsible deadbeats–so very few fit this stereotype.
Therefore, consider yourself forewarned–my pro-consumer perspective is
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The Meaning of the Loss of Home
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When Bob Lawless posted yesterday (April 17) the table showing the daily filings for March, 2008, it got me thinking about what exactly those numbers mean, and specifically, about the families who are represented by those statistics and in the middle of financial crises. And while I recognize that not all, or even most, of these filers are losing their homes in the process of bankruptcy, some will be. And this fact really tugged at my emotions.
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An Update on Erica Stevens
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Back on February 24, I posted the story of Erica Stevens (again, not her real name). Erica is one of the respondents of the Consumer Bankruptcy Project 2007. I described how her bank had held a check from the bankruptcy study for five days, without telling Erica, thus causing a couple of her checks to bounce—to the tune of $33 per check. In our outrage over the way Erica was treated, a couple of us who blog here on Credit Slips volunteered to contact her bank on her behalf (with no charge to Erica whatsoever). The objective was simply to attempt to get the charges reversed. When our interviewer, Denise McDaniel, called Erica with the offer, her reaction surprised us.
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Ripped Off by the Banking Industry
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Bankrupt folks who participated in the Consumer Bankruptcy Project 2007 had the opportunity to complete a telephone interview. For the interview, they were paid $50. Respondents who shared particularly heroic and inspirational stories could be nominated by the interviewers for additional compensation. Denise McDaniel, one of our interviewers, nominated Erica Stevens (not her real name) for this "award." Little did we know that Erica’s bank would take this opportunity to rip her off.
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Another Consequence of Economic Crises: The Loss of our Four-Legged Family Members
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In my free-time, I frequently cruise the sites of horse rescues and adoption facilities. I certainly don’t need another large, four-legged, hairy family member, but, like visiting the local ice cream shop, it’s fun to look. Anyway, I’ve come across several comments describing some of the less-recognized effects of the economic downturn and the increase in home foreclosures. Namely, it appears that as people lose their homes and their jobs, they are increasingly forced to leave their horses at rescues or other shelters. (Even more disturbing, because the market is currently flooded with horses and they are so expensive to maintain, many end up slaughtered rather than at rescues and shelters.) And back in December, The Columbus Dispatch ran a piece on families who had lost their homes in foreclosure and had to leave their dogs at the Franklin County Dog Shelter. The director of the shelter, Lisa Wahoff, said: "There’s even a national term for it: ‘foreclosure dogs.’ We started seeing it more about 18 months ago, people writing ‘foreclosure’ or ‘financial reasons’ on their surrender forms."
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Oh! The efficiency of the current U.S. health care system
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I know that the most recent posts have focused on the mortgage fiasco, but I’d like to insert a quick thought on health care/medical issues.
I’ll begin by laying my cards on the table—I am a strong proponent of a single-payer health care system. I’ve spent too much time talking with medically bankrupt families to have much use for anything else. One of the scare tactics used by opponents of universal health care is telling Americans that if we provide health care for everyone, well, gosh, the wait time for medical attention will be very, very long. Let me be blunt: This is hogwash, and my guess is that many folks who have tried to get in to see a doctor lately know it to be true.