Alex Susenbach

R110 - Section No. 5197

10/19/2010
Teresa Tackett

Claim/problem Statement: There is way too much credit card debt in America.

Assertion 1: I. Credit card debt is a serious problem in the United States today.

Evidence Logos A. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were

159 million credit cardholders in the United States in 2000,

173 million in 2006, and that number is projected to grow to

181 million Americans by 2010. (Source: Census Bureau)

Evidence Logos B. Undergraduates are carrying record-high credit card

balances. The average (mean) balance grew to $3,173, the

highest in the years the study has been conducted. Median

debt grew from 2004’s $946 to $1,645. Twenty-one percent

of undergraduates had balances of between $3,000 and

$7,000, also up from the last study. (Source: Sallie Mae,

"How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April

2009)

Evidence Logos C. Average credit card debt per household with credit card

debt: $15,788

Evidence Logos D. According to our class survey, a majority of the people here

have Credit cards, and have either personally had some

trouble with debt, or at least know its an issue. (Class

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 Survey)

Transition Now that I've given some examples as to how many people have
credit cards, and how much debt they are accumulating, here is how
its effecting us.
Assertion 2: II. This debt is causing us to not even have money for simple

things like an emergency hospital visit.

Evidence Logos A. Only 32% of Americans would be able to cover a $5,000

emergency with cash without going into debt for it.

(Gallup/Bankrate.com survey) In other words, without using

their credit card.

Evidence Logos B. Penalty fees from credit cards will add up to about $20.5

billion in 2009, according to R. K. Hammer, a consultant to

the credit card industry. (Source: New York Times,

September 2009)

Evidence Logos C. Bankruptcies in 2005 totaled 2,078,415. Of those, 79% were

total chapter 7 bankruptcies. Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires

you to liquidate everything you have and give it to the

people you're in debt with. (U.S Bankruptcy Courts)

Evidence Logos D. Total U.S. revolving debt (98 percent of which is made up of

credit card debt): $852.6 billion, as of March 2010 (Source:

Federal Reserve's G.19 report on consumer credit, March

2010)

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Restatement of As I said, credit card debt is a major issue in America. It’s
Claim:
effecting us greatly and overall harming our economy.

Something needs to change.

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