Lever or Crowbar?

Increasing troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market, growing concerns about student debt loads, and two new movies and an awareness campaign highlighting the burden of credit card debt are focusing attention on the fact that debt is causing major disruptions in the lives of many families. And yet, it’s the rare family that can build assets—buy a home, start and grow a business, go to college, buy the car that is essential for getting to work—without credit. Why does debt seem to be a bigger problem today than in the past? Was the democratization of credit a mistake? What public policies and private actions are needed to rebalance the scales toward debt that truly helps build assets?

At this New America event, Tamara Draut, Director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos; William Apgar, Senior Scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University; and Ellen Seidman, Director of the Financial Services and Education Project at the New America Foundation, participated a lively discussion of these issues. Julie Kosterlitz of National Journal magazine moderated.

Video is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

Participants

• Tamara Draut
  Director, Economic Opportunity Program
  Demos
• William Apgar
  Senior Scholar, Joint Center for Housing Studies
  Harvard University
• Ellen Seidman
  Director, Financial Services and Education Project
  New America Foundation
• Julie Kosterlitz (moderator)
  Staff Reporter
  National Journal