MoneyTalksNews asked:

If you carry a balance on one or more credit cards, you’re not alone: according to the Federal Reserve, nearly half of American families do. And nearly half of American families also have some sort of bank savings accounts. If you have savings, should you use that money to pay off your credit cards?

Charles

AntiConformist911 asked:

Barack Obama vows to not raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250000. ——————————————– American families saw their real incomes fall to an average of $70700 in 2004, down 2.3 percent from 2001, according to a Federal Reserve survey of consumer finances released Thursday. Average net worth rose 6.3 percent during the same period to $448200, buoyed by the often-dramatic appreciation of house values and the increased rate of homeownership. All figures in the Survey of Consumer Finances, which is released every three years, are adjusted for inflation. “This is a tremendously detailed, comprehensive look at the American family’s balance sheet and it ain’t pretty,” said Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group in Washington. Bernstein pointed to the disparity between the economy’s robust performance during the three-year period and the benefits — or lack thereof — reaped by wage earners. “Between 2001 and 2004, productivity was up almost 12 percent,” he said. “That’s supposed to mean a significant improvement in living standards, but in terms of net worth, you just don’t see it.” Growth in income and net worth during the previous period measured by the consumer finance report, 1998-2001, was markedly stronger. From 1998 to 2001, average incomes grew 17.3 percent and median incomes grew 9.5 percent, while average net worth rose 28.7 percent and the median rose 10.3 percent. Medians, or …

Samuel