Do you feel that you are living on the edge financially? I sure hope not, but if you do, you’re not alone.
Today, Qvisory is releasing a report that we commissioned, Young People: Living on the Edge. The results show that young people are facing tremendous and growing financial stress. Financial concerns top the list of problems facing young adults today, at 55 percent, an 11-point jump over the past year.
In addition, young adults face a growing credit crisis:
- Three out of four young people report having gone deeper in debt over the past year.
- More than half of young adults say they are only paying their minimum monthly amount on their credit card.
- Nearly one in five (19%) report having had their phone, cable, or utilities cut off, and more than one in seven (15%) have faced repossession or had their credit card cancelled due to non-payment.
- One in three young people who owe money on a credit card owe more than $10,000 overall.
- 28% of all young adults are carrying medical debt.
- More than half of all young people have gone without health insurance at some point in the past five years – including 75% of those who are now carrying medical debt.
Watch a presentation by Anna Greenberg who conducted the research for Qvisory.
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Our findings come during what seems to be a rising tide of corroborating evidence. The Rockefeller Foundation, which partially funds Qvisory, released similar data last week. And recent reports by Demos and the Center for American Progress also highlight the significant challenges that young people face today.
Another crucial finding from our survey is that only 32% of respondents think the leadership in Washington, DC represents their interests well, in contrast to their views about how well corporations (79%), veterans (52%), and seniors (53%) are represented. We know that advocating on behalf of young adults is desperately needed to help solve these problems, and that’s why we’re here.
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1 Comment
Buster
08/03/08 01:58 PM
As a senior, I'm glad to be alive, and I am well aware that the future of my country, and the world, depends on today's under-thirty generation. As a veteran, I am appalled at the way this government has thumbed its nose at the world! As a pensioner, I worry about how much longer I'll be able to afford my home.
I am, I fear, one of those oddities: an old-school FDR New Deal liberal, who still believes in the inherent good in man. Silly me...
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