The credit card reforms are necessary and can be advantageous for people of color, he says. Credit card-holding Black and Hispanic families tend to have high levels of debt.
“These groups are more likely to be using credit cards to pay for necessities and not leisure trips. They represent a population who has high debt compared to their income,” says García, co-author of Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies are Drowning Americans in Debt.
He notes that lenders tend to extend more risky credit, which includes higher interest rates and more fees, to minorities and low-income individuals.
Ultimately, the financial aid system should do more to cater to needy students, he says.
“I think these students in general should not be looking for credit cards to pay for those bills,” García says. “We need to move out of these debt-based ways to pay for higher education.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
