Free Republic

During an interview on Tuesday for Wednesday’s BET News interview special “Black America Votes: The Biden Interview,” President Joe Biden said that his economic policies haven’t resonated with people “because the Republican Party and the MAGA Republicans have been opposed to it, and they’ve been beating up on it.” And because “it’s just taking time for people to see it. And the other thing is, there’s not been a very good job done about saying, this new billion-dollar bridge going over there is brought to you by Joe Biden.” But some of his policy agenda has “resonated for those who...

The financial landscape is in turmoil: credit card interest rates have surged to an unprecedented 21.47%, while credit card debt has crossed the $1 trillion mark. Personal interest payments have climbed to over $500 billion, signaling a looming consumer crisis. With excess savings depleted, the consumer's financial health is more vulnerable than ever. Inflation remains deeply entrenched, posing a significant threat to the economy.

Under Bidenomics and Fed monetary “policies”, we now have the wreck of the US middle class. To begin with, America’s paychecks are bigger than 40 years ago, but purchasing power of those larger paychecks is about the sames as it was 40 years ago. Great job Washington DC!!! … NOT!!!! Meanwhile, credit card delinquencies are at the highest level since 1991. Americans are feeling extreme financial stress. Coping with Bidennomics and The Fed has been most difficult. Especially if you listened to Biden’s D-Day speech (almost stolen word-for-word from a Ronald Reagan speech). Demented Joe Biden being led by the...

eBay customers will no longer be able to use American Express cards to pay for purchases from this summer. The online marketplace announced Wednesday that it would no longer accept the cards from August 17. It blamed the 'unacceptably high fees' imposed byAmEx for processing transactions. It is a huge blow to American Express, which has become a favorite among Gen Z consumers, and whose customers are often the most attractive among merchants as they tend to spend the most money per month on their cards.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new guidelines for ensuring the integrity of carbon credits or offsets. While the practice of buying carbon offsets or credits is voluntary, the administration says it hopes to help ensure that credits being sold are actually credible. Individuals, businesses and other entities can buy these credits to try to “offset” their emissions as part of an effort to achieve net-zero. This can entail things like paying organizations to plant trees or prevent them from being cut down. But, markets for carbon credits have been plagued by issues including double counting. Questions have also been...

It’s becoming tougher and tougher for Americans to carry on with their spending spree. Years of elevated inflation and the highest interest rates in almost a quarter century are wearing out the US consumer. Savings accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic are drying up, borrowers continue to rack up debt and delinquencies are marching higher. Retailers say shoppers are fed up with rising prices and are changing their purchasing behavior.

Austan Goolsbee, President of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, highlighted that consumer delinquencies are among the most worrisome economic indicators currently being monitored. His concerns now appear prescient as new data reveal a significant uptick in delinquency rates in the first quarter of 2024. "If the delinquency rate of consumer loans starts rising, that is often a leading indicator that things are about to get worse," Goolsbee stated.

"Spaving" – spending more to save – is an old "trap" with a new name hitting grocery stores, retailers and even online gambling. Though there are times "spaving" is worthwhile, one personal finance expert outlined how consumers can avoid becoming the "victim" of the marketing ploy. "The whole concept of ‘spaving’ is to get consumers to buy more," Kuderna Financial Team founder and "What Should I Do with My Money?" author Bryan Kuderna told Fox News Digital. "You see different examples like that all throughout the economy. And where it hurts the consumer is if it encourages them to essentially...

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2024-- The way people pay and get paid has changed more in the past five years than in the last 50. Consumers have evolved, adapting to new payment experiences – from the advent of embedded, digital commerce to the rapid adoption of “the tap.” Today at the annual Visa Payments Forum in San Francisco, Visa (NYSE: V) unveiled new products and services that will revolutionize the card and address the future needs of businesses, merchants and consumers and the financial institutions that serve them. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240515563838/en/ “The...

There’s nothing more frustrating than working your socks off only to see someone else get all the credit for your efforts. Spare a thought, then, for the minds behind some of history’s most significant innovations, who, despite months, years, or in some cases lifetimes of work, find someone else’s name ignominiously attached to their invention. Sometimes inventions are miscredited in the public consciousness simply because a more famous name becomes associated with the creation. For example, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford — two of modern history’s most well-known innovators — are often credited with things they didn’t actually invent, through...

A just-released report from Scholaroo indicates that the U.S. national average for credit card debt has escalated to $6,555, with New Jersey residents leading the nation with an average debt of $8,155 per credit card. Scholaroo, a national firm matching college students with potential scholarships, surveyed more than 2,000 people across the United States during the final quarter of 2023.Coming in at a close second is Connecticut, with an average debt of $8,011 per credit card, followed by Maryland, New York, and Alaska—all with average credit card debts of more than $7,600 per card. Rounding out the top 10 states...

(NEXSTAR) – If President Biden’s tax deal makes it through Congress, some taxpayers could see a sizable bump in the form of an expanded child tax credit, but the proposed bill has hit a stumbling block. In late January, the House passed the measure, titled the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, in a resounding 357-70 bipartisan vote. All momentum stopped, however, when it reached the Senate, where it remains stalled with roughly a month left in the tax filing season. The current child tax credit is $2,000 per child, but not all of that is refundable. If...

Buying a home has become increasingly out of reach for Americans, who are grappling with a double whammy of high interest rates and surging home values. In his State of the Union address on Thursday, President Joe Biden proposed a new tax credit that would provide $10,000 to first-time home buyers. Biden is also proposing a separate $10,000 tax credit for current homeowners who sell their "starter home" in order to jump into a bigger house. That could help melt a real estate market in which homeowners who locked in low mortgage rates during the pandemic and are hesitant to...

Capital One announced on Monday it was acquiring a rival financial services company in a massive stock deal as Americans continue to be plagued with credit card debt, according to The New York Times. The McLean, Virginia-based bank announced it would acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion all-stock transaction, The New York Times reported. The acquisition of Discover would give Capital One more market power due to Discover having a payments network of its own at the same time as credit card debt continues to mount for consumers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The acquisition could face...

Capital One Financial is set to acquire Discover Financial Services , according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The deal could be announced Tuesday, the outlet said, citing sources. The merger of the two companies, who are among the largest credit card issuers in the U.S., would expand Capital One’s credit-card offerings. The news comes on the back of a Bloomberg News report on Monday that Capital One was considering an acquisition. Shares of Discover are down 1.7% lower for the year, putting the company at a $27.63 billion market cap. Capital One has a market cap of...

Everywhere I go, I hear from people who are struggling to keep up with rising costs. It’s the No. 1 concern on everyone’s minds. Too many families across this country are hurting. They’ve been dealing with high housing costs, high child care costs, and high college costs for too long, and they have been hit hard by global inflation since the pandemic. I know that there is no stress like financial stress on a family, because it never goes away. It eats at your sense of security. It impacts every little decision. I saw it firsthand growing up, as my...

* Collectively, Americans owe $1.13 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. * Higher prices have largely caused consumers to spend down their savings and lean on credit cards to make ends meet. * Now, young adults, who are also burdened by high levels of student loan debt, are increasingly falling behind on the payments, the New York Fed found. Americans now owe a collective $1.13 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This is...

I think the Biden Presidency is nicely summed-up by Biden confusing France’s President Macron with former French President Mitterand. Particularly since Mitterand died in 1996. Is Biden seeing dead people?? Anyway, the Biden economy and his Bidenomic strategy is based on massive debt expansion, both public and private debt. Household Debt reached $17.5 Trillion in Fourth Quarter; Delinquency Rates Rise Credit card delinquecies (90+ days) rose to almost 10% in Q4 2023. Credit card delinquencies surged more than 50% in 2023 as total consumer debt swelled to $17.5 trillion, the New York Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. Debt that has transitioned...

Americans are piling on more credit card debt amidst persistent inflation and high interest rates, driving total debt to a new record of over $1.08 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Powell downplays the likelihood of a real estate-led banking crisis but anticipates closures or mergers among smaller banks. The tightening monetary policy reflects the most restrictive measures since the 1970s and 1980s, with stricter loan standards observed across the board, especially in Commercial Real Estate loans.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to expand the Child Tax Credit until 2025 despite some opposition from Republican members of Congress. “The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024” is a bipartisan bill negotiated between the Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee and the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee, which would reform and expand the credit until 2025. On Wednesday, the House voted to suspend normal rules and pass the bill by a vote of 357 yeas to 70 nays. “For the last three years, American families, farmers, workers, and small businesses have borne...