Catherine Panczner
Mr. Raspa
Composition 1
14 November 2014
Hope in Courageous Adjustments In “Strapped,” Tamara Draut contends that sacrificing values in order to make a profit, a lack of opportunity, high student loans and easy to attain credit has programmed this generation to acquire debt early. This leads them to accept debt as a way of life as they are catapulted into a vicious cycle of repayment and survival; all while being criticized by the generation before them. Throughout the excerpt, Draut has proved her credibility, aroused the readers’ emotions and exhibited logic thus producing an effective essay.
At a national think tank, Demos Research, Draut holds the title Vice President of Policy and Research. On their website one can find a list of her expertise such as commentator for many credible news programs, co-author of reports published by Demos, and some of the magazines and newspapers where her publications can be found. Her knowledge excels in “credit and debt, the middle class, and young people” (Demos.org). Another website, Shesource, praises her by claiming “Draut developed the organization’s [Demos] groundbreaking work on household indebtedness, middle class insecurity and the economic challenges facing young people” (Shesource.com).
Two years after Draut’s book was published, the Subcommittee of Financial and Consumer Credit of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing supporting Draut’s passionate topic and argument that was presented in her book – student and credit card debt. As the Committee website streamed the hearing live, Draut blogged and posted from Dailykos.com
2:37 p.m. | Borrowing to Make Ends Meet Chris Lindstorm of US PIRG [Public Interest Research Group] points out that 55 percent responds to a US PIRG survey of college students reported using credit cards to cover day-to-day expenses. Twenty-four percent said they had used their cards to pay for college tuition. This echoes Demos research showing that one out of three households reported using credit cards in the last year to pay for basic [survival] expenses including, rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities or insurance. (Dailykos.com.)
Draut stirs her readers’ emotions by revealing the deceptive and tenacious “profit mongering” tactics credit card companies use to target this generation (Draut 153). Most adolescents leave college with high student loans only to be wooed by credit card companies presenting themselves as an angel of light or a free gift, enticing them to sign up and extend their new independence. If tabling does not grab the overwhelmed new student, usually the college itself has agreed to exchange the student’s private information for a price. Benjamin Lawsky backs up Draut’s blog in stating “that the public will be “shocked” when the AG [Attorney General] reveals the results of his nationwide investigation into the highly lucrative and somewhat secret deals being struck between schools and credit card lenders to share students’ personal information for marketing purposes” (Dailykos.com).
US PIRG’s full report can be found on Student PIRG’s website with the appropriate title, “Campus Credit Card Trap.” Hope can be found as the results reveal how students are aware of the problems they face with being targeted on campus. The article sums up the report stating that “…four out of five (80%) students supported adoption of strong credit card marketing principles,” with 74% of those students stressing “that only cards with fair terms and conditions should be marketed on campus.” An awe-inspiring “67 % opposed the sale or sharing of student lists [address or phone numbers]...with credit card companies.” Contradicting this fresh hope, 76% of the students admitted that they were attracted to visit credit card tables to view offers or apply (Student PIRGs.org).
The generation of Baby Boomers, who became known for their luxurious spending which set them apart from their frugal Great Depression elders,