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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

If you are one of the 35% [within the 99%], and vote Republican, then you are a clown.

This Strib carry of an AP item.

By JOSH BOAK - AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 35 percent of Americans have debts and unpaid bills that have been reported to collection agencies, according to a study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute.

Beyond being a clown, you are right where the 1% wants you, behind the 8-ball and timid for being there. If you are really, really quiet, you can hear the 1%'ers at their country clubs, snickering up their sleeves.

In Minneapolis things differ from national average data:

Almost half of Las Vegas residents— many of whom bore the brunt of the housing bust that sparked the recession— have debt in collections. Other Southern cities have a disproportionate number of their people facing debt collectors, including Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina; and Jackson, Mississippi.

A few major factors appear to be driving the delinquencies, said Eric Salazar, the Texas and Florida manager for the credit counseling agency GreenPath.

First, many of these workers have low-paying jobs in construction and services, in addition to minimal education on their finances.

"There is not the income growth to save and they have to make survival decisions," Salazar said. "You make the decision to pay for the roof over your head and to feed your family and that's all you can afford to do."

Secondly, these states are home to retirees who live on fixed incomes and may struggle to pay medical bills, Salazar said.

Other cities have populations that have largely managed to repay their bills on time. Just 20.1 percent of Minneapolis residents have debts in collection. Boston, Honolulu and San Jose, California, are similarly low.

Only about 20 percent of Americans with credit records have no debt at all. Yet high debt levels don't always lead to more delinquencies, since the debt largely comes from mortgages.

Mergers and acquisitions guru McFadden will grab your sleeve, and tell you about jobs, with these in particular possibly to his liking (all jobs not being equal):

The collections industry employs 140,000 workers who recover around $50 billion each year, according to a separate study published this year by the Federal Reserve's Philadelphia bank branch.

Them and telemarketers, sleaze incorporated, but with the latter being displaced from jobs, by robo calling nuisance.