The WSJ's article, Communities Pay for High Prison Rate, discusses the problems faced by communities in states like Arizona where people are raising their grand-kids and and in some cases great grand-kids because a parent (or parents) are in prison.
The NYT, in its article "Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt" presents the case study of one person whose home is in foreclosure and and who is in dire financial straits. It describes the exploitation of her situation by giants like Citi and Capital One, while recognizing that ultimately she was responsible for her actions. Here is some data from this article:
"Today, Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, up 22 percent since 2000 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Board. The average household’s credit card debt is $8,565, up almost 15 percent from 2000.College debt has more than doubled since 1995. The average student emerges from college carrying $20,000 in educational debt.Household debt, including mortgages and credit cards, represents 19 percent of household assets, according to the Fed, compared with 13 percent in 1980. Even as this debt was mounting, incomes stagnated for many Americans. As a result, the percentage of disposable income that consumers must set aside to service their debt — a figure that includes monthly credit card payments, car loans, mortgage interest and principal — has risen to 14.5 percent from 11 percent just 15 years ago."
When prudence falls by the way side and citizens want to have the immediate gratification, companies work overtime to exploit this weakness and the government machinery is oiled to help these companies. The underlying social fabric that binds society is not just fraying at the edges, it is becoming like a donut with a huge emptiness in the middle.
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