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Thursday, March 03, 2005

A Bankrupt System

The latest issue of the Facing South email newsletter is now online. Here's the ever-popular Institute Index:
INSTITUTE INDEX - A Bankrupt System
  • Number of individuals who declare bankruptcy each year: 1.6 million
  • Of 15 states with highest rates of personal bankruptcies, number in the South: 7
  • Percent of bankruptcies that result from job loss, medical bills, or divorce: 90
  • Rank of elderly among fastest-growing age group for bankruptcies: 1
  • Percent that credit card debt increased for the elderly from 1989 to 2001: 149
  • Amount consumers lose annually to predatory mortgages, payday loans, and other credit abuses: $16 billion
  • Estimated annual profits of the credit card industry: $30 billion
  • Amount in federal political contributions from banks and credit card companies over last six years: $101 million
  • Vote of Senate Judiciary Committee in approving a measure to restrict ability of consumers to discharge debt through bankruptcy, now before the full Senate: 12 to 5
You can read the rest -- including top news stories from around the region -- here. And if you want to get future issues of Facing South delivered right to your inbox, don't forget to sign up using the form in the upper right-hand corner!
posted by Chris Kromm at 9:15 PM | Email this post | Post a Comment
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Who Are These Folks?

CHRIS KROMM blogs three days a week for Facing South. Chris is Executive Director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of the Institute’s award-winning magazine, Southern Exposure.

SUE STURGIS blogs four days a week for Facing South. Sue is the Institute’s Editorial Director and a former reporter for The Independent Weekly and The Raleigh News & Observer.

DESIREE EVANS blogs four days a week for Facing South. Desiree is a Research Associate at the Institute and former policy analyst for TransAfrica.

The views expressed on Facing South are those of the authors and not necessarily represent the views of the Institute for Southern Studies. The editors reserve the right to reject comments that are abusive, offensive, misleading, or that promote commercial goods and services.

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