Non-Shocker of the Day: Uninformed Poor People Who Were Lent Too Much Having a Hard Time Repaying

No surprise here: Many (low- and middle-income families) use cards to make ends meet (but the stats might have some surprises to some readers):

Most low- and middle-income families accrue credit card debt by paying for basics like medical expenses and car or home repairs during hard times. That is according to a report released this week by New York-based Demos and the Durham, NC-based Center for Responsible Lending.
    In February and March, a firm contracted by Demos conducted a national telephone survey of 1,150 adults who reported having revolved their credit card balances longer than the prior three months and whose earnings fell between 50% and 120% of the local median income.
    The average household credit card debt of survey respondents was $8,650; 59% of them had been in credit card debt for longer than a year, with the average time they had been in debt more than three and a half years. Seven out of 10 respondents said they had relied on their credit cards for repairs and medical expenses. Twenty percent had paid off some card debt by refinancing their mortgage in the past three years, and those households still averaged more than $14,000 in card debt.
    Nearly half of respondents had missed or been late with a payment in the last year, and nearly a quarter had paid a late fee at least once during the year. Given those findings, it’s not surprising that a bill collector had called 47% of those who responded to the survey.

Yes, I know that Demos is a very liberal organization with very liberal policy recommendations that are either hopelessly out of touch with economic reality and/or usually would fix nothing if implemented. But facts are facts, and they do not appear to be twisted to reach forced results.

The cynical marketing of cards with high limits to people of limited means, and often limited financial acumen, is a national scandal. Moral financial institutions, and a moral society, would not have allowed this to get as out of control as it has.