Republican presidential candidates (L-R) U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich participate in a debate sponsored by CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona at February 22nd. Debt is a major talking point in the Republican primaries.
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Reagan Democrats, soccer moms, evangelicals, and others have all been key voter demographics in previous elections. In the coming election, "people in debt" might be the group candidates vie for if they want to win, according to US News.
Not only are more and more Americans getting in debt, but the demographics of those in debt are changing, consumer advocate Bill Bartmann, the CEO of debt collection company CFS II, told US News. Those changes could have an impact in the political arena, as those people used to be viewed as people who just weren't paying their bills.
That's no longer the observation, Bartmann told US News. The CFPB estimates that about 30 million Americans have debt with collections agencies, and Bartmann estimates that approximately 20 million of those people haven't been in debt before. This demographic consists of people who worked for a living, had good jobs, bought homes, and did everything they were supposed to.
People's inability to pay their bills, which is a bigger problem than the unemployment rate in some ways, could end up being the focal point of a lot of campaigns, as politicians try to attract voters, according to the article.
EMAIL: bbullock@desnews.com
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The campaign rhetoric I've been watching on television certainly goes right along with this article. Sadly, the reason so many more people are in debt is because of the economy and they simply can't find a way to dig themselves out. The candidates More..
It is true that peoples' inability to pay their bills is actually a larger concern than the poor economy. I hope that the next President will realize how devastating this is for the American people. Although all of the presidential candidates have More..