How creative are you at getting rid of credit card debt?

Forget subprime mortgages. Credit card debt remains the most onerous kind of debt most people have. Think about it: most of us are paying off things that we can't even remember buying, plus interest and fees. Now, the Obama administration is finally trying to do something about those fees

Hopefully, they'll get some action but the credit card industry will likely fight anything that would decrease their revenues, especially with so many people are defaulting on debt. In the end, the best thing you can do is manage your credit card debt well.

So, what's the most wacky or creative way you've found to get out of credit card debt? Post your answers in the comments section, and if you're willing to be interviewed for a piece National Public Radio is doing, email their producer.
and interest charges.

Black unemployment back at Depression-era levels?

Unfortunately, I know at least a half-dozen people who have lost their jobs in the past year. Some of them quickly found other work (even if it was for less pay), while others are still looking.

Of course, layoffs are affecting millions of people these days, but as has always been the case, the unemployment disease is epidemic in the black community. In my latest segment on National Public Radio, I was in a discussion with the economist Julienne Malveaux, who says that unemployment among African-Americans is at the same levels as it was during the depression.


How does this get turned around?

The final News & Notes

Today's a sad day. NPR is cancelling News & Notes, the national radio show that I've been an economics contributor to for the past few years, next week. I'm usually on on Mondays, but because of it's cancellation, we're taping my final show today.

On the agenda: we're talking about President Obama's rocky road so far in trying to deal with the economy, and some personal observations on how the downturn has affected me and those I know. I'm on with economist Julienne Malveaux and host Tony Cox. The show won't air until next week and after that should still be available online at the News & Notes site. Be sure to listen.

Help for homeowners not working out

I was on NPR's News & Notes on Monday, discussing for the umpteenth time the economic malaise: the highest number of jobs lost in a single year since 1945, little hope in sight for those still looking for jobs, and a deal by one of the country's largest banks to allow judges to modify home mortgages rather than see the homes fall into foreclosure.

For the most part I could have recited the same conversation from months ago: things went from bad to worse and there isn't much hope in sight for a quick turnaround. But the Citibank mortgage deal, and some other data about what happens to many homeowners who have gotten help with their mortgages in the past year, were striking and interesting. Here's why:

Citibank and most other banks had resisted judges having the authority to modify mortgages for the obvious reason: if a homeowner falls behind on payments and the bank forecloses, at least the bank has a chance to take the house back and resell it -- possibly (though not likely) recovering at least all the principal it lent. But if a judge can modify the terms of the loan, the bank might stand to lose some of what it put up without ever getting the chance to see what the house might fetch on the open market and it almost certainly loses some or all of the interest revenue it expected from that loan.

You can see why a bank would be loathe to leave the fate of its mortgage business in the hands of any court. By agreeing, it could be argued that Citi and probably many other banks to follow, are accepting the grim reality that they don't have a chance to break even on many of their mortgage loans anyway (big surprise there) and are resigned to leave it in the hands of judges who might not have viewed their lending practices with particular reverence.

But here's where it gets tricky: there's new evidence that whatever workarounds judges come up with might not help troubled homeowners anyway. Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said last week that more than half the mortgages that had been modified in the first half of 2008 were delinquent again within six months.

Think about that: If you were in trouble on your mortgage in January and got help, it's more likely than not that by July you were behind again. Not a good sign for Citibank, the judges about to perform legal surgery on its mortgages or the homeowners looking for a helping hand.

There could be any number of reasons for this but I'll give you my favorite one: too many people just bought too much house, and too many banks approved those people for loans bigger than they ever should have gotten. If you only make $40 grand a year, no amount of loan modification will help you keep a $300,000 home.

The bad news continues...

A challenge to give

My appearance on NPR yesterday focused on a $50 billion fraud by one of Wall Street's biggest investors, who bilked everyone from sports team owners to charitable foundations out of their money. One charity in Boston even had to close its doors and fire all its staff as a result.

Thievery aside, the talk about charity got me thinking a bout how difficult it must be for those who are struggling and those who help them at this point in history. There's a perfect storm of bad circumstances for the needy: millions of the newly jobless are hitting the streets just as the most people are cutting back even on personal necessities, much less charitable contributions.

So I've resolved to make a donation, not much -- maybe $50 or so -- to some charity that directly helps the needy with food, clothing or shelter, before the year ends. I'm not sure which charity that'll be, so I'm taking suggestions.

In the meantime, I'm challenging everyone who reads this to do the same, no matter the amount. People are suffering through a rough economy, and even if you can only spare $5, that $5 could help someone in desperate need. I'll make another post once I've done the deed, and in the meantime, please share where and what you've given on the comments page.

Why Barack Obama needs to build trains

Yesterday we got introduced to Barack Obama's economic team during a noon press conference. An hour later, I was on National Public Radio talking with a woman who exemplifies why some kind of economic rescue is necessary. Julia Cox lost her job in the mortgage industry almost a year ago and can't find new work. With a daughter in college, she's losing her home and contemplating filing bankruptcy.

Obama's got another press conference today in which he's expected to discuss potential budget cuts for next year, so maybe we'll finally get a look at how we're really paying for all these bailouts. Meanwhile, here's an expensive idea that would be worth the cost in helping boost the economy: trains.

I've been wanting to write about this for a while but Stanley Crouch of the New York Daily News beat me to it. He wrote a column explaining how building a national high-speed rail system is exactly the kind of project that could have a real, decades-long, transformative impact on the American economy.

"Rebuilding and expanding our train system would bring about extremely fruitful construction projects. The new routes would add various levels of service to meet what could become a revolutionary number of customers who could not only count on speed, but also rely on the scenic experience that is much more likely when one is not driving. It would also get us away from the gasoline pump that has upended the American economy for the worst."

I couldn't agree more, but of course a new railroad system would take years to build. People like Julia Cox need help now. If you were on Obama's economic team, what ideas would you bring to the table to jump-start the economy immediately, what long-term projects would you push for and where, oh where, would you find the money?