For the second time this year, Congress’ inability to reach consensus on essential fiscal legislation has devolved into largely partisan bickering and literal, last-minute temporary financial band-aids.
A month later in March, Ms. Chism again lost her job. Her legal aid attorney tried to negotiate repayments with the landlord over several weeks, including an updated proposal with higher numbers when another month’s rent was due.
At the federal level, lawmakers are expected to re-introduce a payday lending bill that would give both consumers and military veterans the same 36% rate protection as the Military Lending Act (MLA). Named the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act, the measure is hoped to secure the same broad and bipartisan support that MLA received.
Although a New Year has begun, many American consumers and small businesses continue to feel a financial hangover from the challenges of 2020. As the global pandemic reveals a still-soaring American infection rate, the nation has also surpassed 350,000 related deaths, added more workers to the ranks of unemployed, and growing debts place millions more in financial crisis.
Beyond the health effects, according to the the U.S. Census Bureau, as of August 31, over 80% of adults with post-high school education plans either cancelled or significantly changed those plans this fall. Further, a significant number of consumers are housing challenged, with one-third of adults anticipating either eviction or foreclosure in the next two months, and over 36% of adults continuing to telework due to the pandemic.
The August 23 police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, WI, triggered yet another round of community protests and national news coverage of a Black man. A series of multiple gunshots fired by a local police officer, were not fatal for 29-year old Jacob Blake; but may have permanently paralyzed him from the waist down.
For much of Black America, access to fair and responsible credit has been an elusive promise. Whether as consumers seeking the pride of homeownership or businesses seeking to begin or expand, securing credit remains an age-old, arduous and often frustrating pursuit – despite a slew of federal and state laws enacted to overcome these long-standing racial disparities.