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As the cost of living continues to rise, more families in the United States are turning to their credit cards for relief. A new report titled \u201cBorrowing to Make Ends Meet: The Rapid Growth of Credit Card Debt in America,\u201d documents this financial trend along age, race and income lines. Using the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Board\u2019s Survey of Consumer Finances, the report comprehensively analyzes credit card debt while charting its rise over the past decade. Among the key findings in the report include the fact that credit card debt in US households has grown by 315 percent to 876 billion dollars since 1989. \u201cBorrowing to Make Ends Meet,\u201d also illustrates that with the twin pressures of rising debt and cost of living expenses, more families are turning to home equities to cope. The overall financial outlook for many of these family households is grim. As a result of the findings, the report concludes by arguing for a proposed Borrowers Security Act to address fairness in lending practices, and calls for congressional action on the economic factors behind the debt crisis.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.techorama.org\/images\/credit-cards_69.jpg\"\/)
GUEST: Jose Garcia, Senior Research and Policy Associate at Demos<\/em><\/p>\n