-Caveat Lector-
I received this in my email. I stripped the name and email of the
person who sent it to me for privacy reasons. My response will follow
in a separate post.
Tenorlove
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--- WW wrote: In the article below, it never points out that taxes
> consume 69% of most every American family's income through ALL the
> taxes collected. It does NOT suggest that people do NOT save because
> TAXES ARE TOO HIGH. Does it mention that estate taxes help
> ensure that we cannot build wealth??? NO! Here's another instance of
> government creating a problem that now, likely with hidden
> tax-funding, government and the banking industry are going to solve
> the problem. Doesn't it drive you mad???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Consumer Federation of America (CFA) Research Reveals Most Americans
> Have Built Little Wealth
> Launch of America Saves Program to Help Consumers Stop Living
> Paycheck to Paycheck
> http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010220/dc_bank_of_america.html
> WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Two new Consumer Federation of
> America (CFA) studies, funded by a Bank of America Foundation
> grant of $100,000, reveal the distressing financial condition of low-
> to middle-income Americans and what measures could be taken to
> help them save and build wealth.
>
> A new analysis of household wealth reveals that the typical family
> has net financial assets of under $10,000 and that many families
> have recently lost wealth. In addition, a comprehensive survey of
> consumer views of their finances, and how to repair them, shows
> that many live from paycheck to paycheck but can benefit by
> developing a simple financial goal and plan.
>
> Based on these studies, earlier research, and a year of planning, CFA
> is launching, with support from a second Bank of America
> Foundation grant of $300,000, an America Saves campaign that will
> seek to:
>
> a.. enroll 100,000 low- to moderate-income savers,
> b.. encourage millions of Americans to build wealth, and
> c.. support wealth-building campaigns throughout the nation.
> The grant will make it possible for CFA to organize and support local
> savings campaigns and to enroll savers directly. The funds
> will support local organizing, the development of a newsletter and
> web site, and the development and marketing of membership in
> America Saves. To enroll, savers must work out a simple, specific
> plan for attaining a financial goal then implement this plan.
>
> This announcement follows 18 months of planning and testing elements
> of a Cleveland Saves campaign, funded by The Ford Foundation
> and other foundations, that will be launched on March 6. Kansas City
> Saves will kick off its campaign in April.
>
> ``As the economy slows, most Americans will try harder to pay down
> debt and build wealth but will find both more difficult,'' said
> Stephen Brobeck, CFA executive director. ``The America Saves campaign
> will try to convince millions of these consumers that they can
> save and build wealth, show them how to do so, and provide related
> incentives,'' he added.
>
> ``As the first truly nationwide bank, we think it is entirely fitting
> for Bank of America to play a leading role in the first truly
> nationwide savings initiative,'' said Lynn Drury, president, Bank of
> America Foundation. ``Americans want to save and believe they
> can, if someone will just give them some ideas how. Our grant will
> help CFA to organize and support local and national savings
> campaigns vital to consumers all across the nation.''
>
> Most Households Have Accumulated Little Wealth While Many Have Lost
> Ground
>
> New research by Professor Catherine Montalto of Ohio State University
> for CFA using the Fed's 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances
> reveals the need for most American households to save.
>
> While the typical household has net assets of $71,700 -- most
> representing home equity -- it has net financial assets (including
> retirement accounts) of only $9,850. Moreover, the typical low to
> moderate income household has net financial assets of less than
> $1,000.
>
> Montalto's research also reveals that the net financial assets and
> net wealth of these low- and moderate-income households actually
> fell in the late 1990s. Between 1995 and 1998, a period of strong
> economic growth and rising incomes, the net assets of very
> low-income households (under $10,000) fell from $4,992 to $3,950, and
> that of other low-income households ($10,000- 25,000) sank
> from $31,940 to $24,650. Rising consumer and home equity debt was an
> important reason for this decline.
>
>
> Most Households Say They At Least Sometimes Live From Paycheck to
> Paycheck
> and Don't Think They Are Saving Enough
>
>
> Fifty-three percent of those surveyed say that they sometimes, most
> of the time, or always ``live from paycheck to paycheck,''
> according to survey research conducted by Princeton Survey Research
> Associates (PSRA) for CFA. This percentage increases to 64
> percent for those with moderate incomes (household incomes of $20,000
> to $50,000) and to 79 percent for those with low incomes
> (household incomes under $20,000).
>
> The survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,637 financial
> decision-makers 18 and older was conducted by PSRA in September
> and October 2000 (margin of error, plus or minus three percentage
> points).
>
> The survey also revealed that 60 percent say ``I don't think I'm
> saving enough for the future.'' That percentage rises to 69 percent
> for those with moderate incomes though unaccountably falls for those
> with low incomes (60 percent).
>
> Many of these respondents were identified by PSRA through factor
> analysis as ``strapped and struggling.'' These Americans want to
> save and build wealth but think they lack the ability to do so. They
> do not save regularly and have difficulty paying bills.
> Typically earning under $50,000, ``strugglers'' usually lack a
> financial plan.
>
> The lack of a financial plan appears to help explain why many
> households are not saving adequately. Only 38 percent had ``ever
> prepared a specific financial plan for yourself or had a professional
> prepare one for you.'' A widely publicized 1997
> CFA/NationsBank study (conducted by PSRA) found that, at all income
> levels under $100,000, households with a plan saved twice as
> much as those who did not.
>
> But Most Households Think They Can Save Money and Identify
> Strategies,
> Programs, and Messages That Would Help Them Do So
>
>
> Despite widespread financial anxiety, nearly two-thirds of those
> surveyed (65 percent) say that ``I have the ability to save money
> and build personal wealth.'' Even more than half (56 percent) of
> those with moderate incomes, and 47 percent with low incomes,
> believe in their capacity to save.
>
> Moreover, an overwhelming majority (82 percent) ``would like to save
> and build wealth.'' This desire is equally strong among those
> with moderate incomes (85 percent) and low incomes (76 percent).
>
> When asked which ``strategies people use to save money'' would be
> ``useful to you,'' respondents rated ``participating in an
> employer's retirement plan'' and ``saving a fixed amount each month''
> as the most useful, as the table below indicates. But paying
> off consumer debts and paying off one's home mortgage were also
> deemed ``very useful'' by most respondents. These four strategies
> were especially popular with those who have moderate incomes.
>
> TABLE 1: USEFULNESS OF SAVINGS STRATEGIES
>
> Very Somewhat
> Combined
>
> Participating in an employer's
> retirement plan (n=non-retirees) 64% 16%
> 80%
>
> Saving a fixed amount each month 57 22
> 79
>
> Developing a comprehensive, long-term
> financial plan 45 24
> 69
>
> Paying off the mortgage on your house
> before you retire (n=homeowners) 57 11
> 68
>
> Saving automatically each month through
> payroll deductions or account transfers 50 8
> 68
>
> Paying off consumer debts, such as
> credit card bills 55 12
> 67
>
>
> When asked which ``financial services offered for free by a nonprofit
> agency you trusted'' most interested them, respondents rate
> ``one-on-one financial planning'' the highest, with 52 percent
> expressing interest. Other popular services were pamphlets on saving
> and building wealth (51 percent), seminars on retirement planning (46
> percent among non-retired), and a web site with information on
> saving and wealth-building tools (46 percent). Support for all four
> services are higher among those with moderate incomes.
>
> When asked which organizations sponsoring these free financial
> services would be more or less likely to persuade you to use them,
> groups with whom respondents had a relationship scored highly. At 40
> percent, ``your bank or credit union'' had the largest net
> positive rating (more likely minus less likely). ``Your employer''
> (33 percent) and ``your church'' (26 percent) also had large net
> positive ratings. Respondents with moderate incomes gave even higher
> ratings to these three organizations.
>
> America Saves Campaign Based on Research and Pilot Project
>
> The America Saves campaign is based on more than three years of
> savings research, and development and testing of a local social
> marketing campaign to persuade low- and moderate-income households to
> save and build wealth. The research included a broad-based
> review of the scholarly literature on saving, an anthropological
> study of low-income household saving, four focus groups, and the
> research released today.
>
> Research findings include:
>
> -- Despite low incomes, many less affluent households are able to
> save
> money.
>
> -- An important barrier to saving among these households is the
> belief
> that their only savings options pay low interest rates and are
> assessed
> monthly fees.
>
> -- Another important barrier to saving among these households is
> the low
> value which their subcultures place on saving.
>
> -- Social marketing initiatives can persuade some lower-income
> households
> to save and build wealth.
>
>
> The demonstration project, which has been funded by The Cleveland
> Foundation and National Endowment for Financial Education, is a
> social marketing initiative in Cleveland, Ohio. In November 2000,
> some 100 community groups, religious groups, employers, unions,
> educators, and financial institutions began planning a Cleveland
> Saves campaign. They established, as a first-year goal (beginning
> early 2001), the enrollment of 2,500 Cleveland Savers and
> encouragement of 25,000 other area residents to move down the ``path
> to
> savings.''
>
> Cleveland Savers must set a financial goal (e.g., emergency fund,
> homeownership, education, retirement) and develop a plan to
> achieve this goal. The plan must include a monthly dollar amount, a
> specific savings (or investment) account, a method of making
> deposits (preferably automatic), and a time period. Cleveland Savers
> qualify for benefits including fee-free savings accounts at ten
> area banks and credit unions, free investment and retirement planning
> seminars, free savings and investment clubs, and participation
> in semi-annual raffles of savings products.
>
> However, the core Cleveland Saves services are a hotline, a pamphlet
> with savings tips and strategies, a motivational workshop to
> convince anyone that they can save, and a one-on-one session with a
> Wealth-Building Coach, who helps the saver find money to save
> and work out a savings plan. Last summer, 600 participated in test
> workshops and 200 in test one-on-one sessions. It is anticipated
> that most Cleveland Savers will attend the motivational workshop.
>
> On March 6, these services will be announced at a community-wide
> meeting and made available to Greater Cleveland-area residents.
> They will be marketed by radio ads, billboards, posters, and
> encouragement by hundreds of participating organizations. Along with
> the two national foundations, The Cleveland Foundation and George
> Gund Foundation are supporting the Cleveland campaign.
>
> In April, area non-profit and financial institutions will launch
> Kansas City Saves. That campaign has set 1,000 Kansas City Savers
> as its goal. It will offer the same type of free workshops,
> one-on-one consultations, and pamphlets that will be available in
> Cleveland. Several Kansas City financial institutions have agreed to
> waive fees for small savers.
>
> America Saves will be advised by leaders from non-profit, corporate,
> and government organizations that currently participate in the
> Forum to Promote Lower-Income Household Savings, managed by CFA.
> Forum members meet three times a year to discuss recent research,
> innovative programs, and promising public policies that are related
> to the promotion of low- and moderate-income household saving
> and wealth-building.
>
> CFA is a non-profit association of 270 pro-consumer groups that was
> established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through
> advocacy and education.
>
> The Bank of America Foundation contributes financial assistance to
> nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life and
> promote the public interest in the areas where the company conducts
> its business. On April 15, 2000, the Foundation received the
> 1999 Spirit of America Award from the United Way.
>
> SOURCE: Bank of America
__________________________________________________
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