Ballooning Consumer Debt

By the end of 2007 Americans carried $937 billion in credit card debt - up $90 billion from 2006 according to CardTrak. The Federal Reserve reports that in just the first six weeks of 2008 consumers' revolving credit debt carried over month to month increased $68 billion.

In response, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced in January 2008 the Credit Card Minimum Payment Notification Act. It would require credit card companies to clearly warn consumers - in their monthly credit card statements - about the financial dangers of making only minimum monthly payments and to provide a toll free number to an accredited credit counseling service for those consumers making only minimum payments for six months or more.