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Reflections on Reputation and its Consequences

These reputational consequences--whether justified or not--are to be expected. Sociologists and economists have long remarked upon the central role that social trust plays in healthy markets. Market transactions depend on a whole series of assumptions that people must be able to rely on, including the soundness of money, the enforceability of contracts, the good will of their partners, the integrity of the legal system, and the common meanings of language. Social trust is the glue that holds markets and societies together.
February 28, 2013 |
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
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Economy & Opportunity 
Financial Reform 
Regulation & Oversight 
Young Adults Are Too Broke To Get Loans

Young adults are pulling back on credit-card debt for similar reasons, said Amy Traub, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a public policy research organization. It found that Americans age 25 to 34 cut their credit card debt in half between 2008 and 2012.

All around them, young adults are seeing signs of financial distress -- job insecurity, foreclosures, high college costs. That's making them think twice about applying for loans, she said.
February 27, 2013 |
CNN Money
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Credit and Debt 
Economy & Opportunity 
There Will Be More Trayvons

Trayvon Martin was shot dead exactly one year ago today. As we acknowledge this dubious anniversary, a question to consider is: Are we doing any better a year later, when it comes to keeping young people safe?
February 26, 2013 |
Salon
401(k): Pass or Fail?

Despite only being 35 years old, it might be time to retire the 401(k).

The 401(k) started out as a tax loop hole to supplement workers' savings and has grown to become Americans’ main retirement savings tool.  But many baby boomers are finding their retirement in tatters and aren’t able to leave the workforce due to grossly inadequate savings.
February 26, 2013 |
Fox Business
How Bad Credit Reports Affect The Job Search

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, plenty of Americans have seen their credit scores tank. But can that really affect your ability to get a job? Yes, because employers increasingly are relying on workers' credit histories in screening applications.
February 25, 2013 |
AOL Jobs
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Economy & Opportunity 
Jobs & Income 
Why The Nation's Biggest Banks Are Even Bigger Than You Thought

Already, the biggest banks in the U.S. are huge. The largest 0.2 percent of institutions — just 12 mega-banks — control 69 percent of total bank assets. The 20 biggest banks hold assets equal to 84.5 percent of the nation’s entire economic output.
February 20, 2013 |
Think Progress
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Financial Reform 
Regulation & Oversight 
Five Reasons Boomers Are Getting Buried by Debt

Despite millennials' lingering reputation as financial delinquents, it turns out not everyone drowning in credit card debt has a newly-printed college diploma and a stack of student loan bills.

A recent article by Reuters' Chris Taylor reveals baby boomers are facing an even steeper road to financial freedom. 
February 20, 2013 |
Business Insider
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Credit and Debt 
Economy & Opportunity 
How is Minnesota’s ‘middle class’ doing?

If you consider yourself part of the middle class, you could be forgiven for not standing at the ready after President Obama called for you to be reignited.
February 19, 2013 |
MinnPost
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Economy & Opportunity 
The Middle Class 
Boomers Face Credit-Card Quandary as Economic Doldrums Bite

Harsh, an IT professional from Tuscola, Illinois, is 62, around the age at which a lot of people start actively planning to retire to a white-sandy beach with a frozen margarita in hand.

Harsh's debt snuck up on her as she helped her two daughters with college and living costs. She went back to school after a divorce and dealt with unexpected expenses such as big dental bills. Now she has about $300 a month in minimum payments, spread across three credit cards, and the balance never seems to go down because of all the interest she is paying.
February 19, 2013 |
Reuters
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Credit and Debt 
Economy & Opportunity 
Virginia’s new voter ID bill likely illegal

The right is working to have a key provision of the Voting Rights Act declared unconstitutional. But voting rights advocates say a harsh new voter ID bill pushed by Republicans in Virginia is the latest example of why it’s still needed.

... 
February 15, 2013 |
MSNBC.com
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Democracy & Elections 
Voting Rights & Voter Registration