Thanksgiving Wrap-Up
We at Warren Reports hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. But the news never stops, so here are a few stories, courtesy of USA Today, that you may have missed.
On Wednesday USA Today and ABC News kicked off a six-week series “Young and In Debt.” Just a few highlights from the full story:
Nearly two-thirds carry some debt, and those with debt have taken on more in the past five years, according to an analysis of the credit records of 3 million twentysomethings that Experian, the credit-reporting agency, did for USA TODAY. Their late payments are rising, and they're more likely to be late than other Americans are.
Nearly half of twentysomethings have stopped paying a debt, forcing lenders to "charge off" the debt and sell it to a collection agency, or had cars repossessed or sought bankruptcy protection.
…
Debt has forced some young people to change their career plans. Of those surveyed, 22% say they've taken a job they otherwise wouldn't have because they needed more money to pay off student-loan debt. Twenty-nine percent say they've put off or chosen not to pursue more education because they have so much debt already. And 26% have put off buying a home for the same reason.
A smaller percentage say they've put off marrying (11%) or having children (14%).
The Boomerang Generation — young adults who return to live with their parents — is real, too. In the poll, of 910 twentysomethings, 19% said they've moved back with parents to cut costs. The 2000 Census found that more than 25% of 18- to 34-year-olds had moved back in with family at the time the Census was taken.
America’s Paper also reported that a “wealth gap” threatens to swallow the American dream, as housing trends are reshaping neighborhoods.
Such changes are important because, as the article notes, “homeownership is the No. 1 source of wealth-building for middle and lower classes.” The rich and middle class are increasingly living in different neighborhoods, and the local politics of “not in my backyard” is making affordable housing increasingly difficult to find.
"Unfortunately, (rich residents) don't want people like me, a working-class person, living in their backyard," says Brian Settle, who works for NCH health care System, which runs the two hospitals in Naples. "They don't want firefighters, teachers. I don't understand that, because we are the infrastructure."
But the paper reports that change might be possible:
Yet some wealthier residents are starting to feel that the lack of affordable housing is eroding their quality of life. Roads at rush hour look like parking lots. Restaurant service is slower. Checkout lines are longer because businesses can't find enough people willing to work here. And companies that raise wages to lure job candidates usually pass the cost on to customers.
