Early voting a hit with DeKalb voters
By DAVID SIMPSON and APRIL HUNT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Early voters continued to stream into DeKalb’s voter registration office Wednesday, joining 4,567 county residents who cast their general election ballots in the first two days of the week.
Monday’s opening day of early voting at the Memorial Drive office attracted about 1,550 voters, and that number was nearly doubled Tuesday, according to figures provided by the voting office.
The two-day total represented about 1 percent of DeKalb’s registered voters — 430,458 as of Sept. 2.
Wednesday’s voting began slower, but activity was picking up by mid-morning, said spokeswoman Mary Frances Weeks.
Voters reported waiting in line 30 to 40 minutes on Tuesday.
“It was real smooth,” Nathaniel Lowery reported after spending most of his lunch hour at the DeKalb voter registration office.
Lowery, a regular voter, said he expected a big turnout on Nov. 4. He said he came early “to get things moving. This economy needs to get things done.”
Early voter Alvin Majette said he also votes regularly, but the conversations he hears on the job at Jackson Security convinced him a huge turnout is coming.
“I think you’ll get people voting who never voted before,” he said.
Jim and Carole Stradley voted early so they can devote themselves to other voters on Election Day, when they will be poll workers at Idlewood Elementary School.
Asked if he thinks the work will be hard at the polls, Jim Stradley said, “I hope it’s real hard. … I think we’re looking at 75 to 80 percent [turnout].”
This is the first time in Georgia that voters could cast their ballots at the elections office without needing a reason to vote absentee. Officials hope early voting will spur turnout and keep lines short on Nov. 4.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Atlanta Agency Reports Increase in Middle-Class Debt
More in middle class seeking help with debt
Average income of those getting credit counseling is on the rise, Atlanta agency reports
By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More middle-class Americans are suffering financial pain and reaching out for help, according to new numbers from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta.
The average annual household income of people who contacted CCCS last month was $49,308, an 18 percent increase over August 2007.
That’s “an amount far above historic levels for people seeking this service,” CCCS reported. The agency counsels people from all over the country.
“Rising unemployment, the continuing mortgage and credit crisis, and rising food and fuel costs are causing people with good incomes to seek help paying their debt,” CCCS president Suzanne Boas said.
“People with middle-class incomes are finding it more and more difficult to meet their financial obligations. Pay as you go is a rude awakening.”
During the first eight months of the year, CCCS conducted more than 37,000 budget and debt counseling sessions, a 39 percent increase over the same period last year, the agency said.
“No one’s immune from the broader decline in the financial markets,” said Ryan Sweet, senior economist with Moody’s Economy.com. “Very little is going right for consumers. There’s little doubt we’re in a recession.”
In August, unemployment hit 6.1 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points over 12 months, with most of the increase coming during the past four months. The credit counseling figures are a reflection of that change, according to Dorsey Farr, a principal at French Wolf & Farr, an Atlanta-based investment adviser.
“What you’re seeing is the impact of job loss over the last eight or nine months translating into credit problems. It’s catching up with folks who are higher income earners,” Farr said.
Sweet said the CCCS figures indicate to him that a greater proportion of those seeking help are homeowners instead of renters. And many homeowners are taking a drubbing in the financial markets, adding to their woes, he said.
Michael Reksulak, assistant professor of economics at Georgia Southern University, said some seeking counseling might be individuals who took on adjustable-rate mortgages a few years ago and are reeling as the loans ratchet upward while their wages stagnate.
“There are very rational people who said ‘this makes sense for me’” when they agreed to the loans, Reksulak said. “But if they try to refinance in the current situation and they have a blot on their credit report, that’s a problem. They couldn’t see this coming.”
Homeowners also are having a tougher time accessing home-equity lines of credit as home values plummet and bankers exercise greater caution. “This is limiting another source of income for the already-strained household,” Sweet said.
So credit cards balances and other expenses, instead of being paid down, are growing beyond the scope of manageability.
The average monthly housing cost for those who contacted CCCS in August was $1,423, a 25 percent increase compared to the same month in 2007.
Additionally, food and fuel costs went up to $638 last month, which is 20 percent higher than in January, the agency reported. “While people seeking help paid less for fuel in August than July, the amount spent on food continues to climb,” CCCS says.
Average income of those getting credit counseling is on the rise, Atlanta agency reports
By KEVIN DUFFY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More middle-class Americans are suffering financial pain and reaching out for help, according to new numbers from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta.
The average annual household income of people who contacted CCCS last month was $49,308, an 18 percent increase over August 2007.
That’s “an amount far above historic levels for people seeking this service,” CCCS reported. The agency counsels people from all over the country.
“Rising unemployment, the continuing mortgage and credit crisis, and rising food and fuel costs are causing people with good incomes to seek help paying their debt,” CCCS president Suzanne Boas said.
“People with middle-class incomes are finding it more and more difficult to meet their financial obligations. Pay as you go is a rude awakening.”
During the first eight months of the year, CCCS conducted more than 37,000 budget and debt counseling sessions, a 39 percent increase over the same period last year, the agency said.
“No one’s immune from the broader decline in the financial markets,” said Ryan Sweet, senior economist with Moody’s Economy.com. “Very little is going right for consumers. There’s little doubt we’re in a recession.”
In August, unemployment hit 6.1 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points over 12 months, with most of the increase coming during the past four months. The credit counseling figures are a reflection of that change, according to Dorsey Farr, a principal at French Wolf & Farr, an Atlanta-based investment adviser.
“What you’re seeing is the impact of job loss over the last eight or nine months translating into credit problems. It’s catching up with folks who are higher income earners,” Farr said.
Sweet said the CCCS figures indicate to him that a greater proportion of those seeking help are homeowners instead of renters. And many homeowners are taking a drubbing in the financial markets, adding to their woes, he said.
Michael Reksulak, assistant professor of economics at Georgia Southern University, said some seeking counseling might be individuals who took on adjustable-rate mortgages a few years ago and are reeling as the loans ratchet upward while their wages stagnate.
“There are very rational people who said ‘this makes sense for me’” when they agreed to the loans, Reksulak said. “But if they try to refinance in the current situation and they have a blot on their credit report, that’s a problem. They couldn’t see this coming.”
Homeowners also are having a tougher time accessing home-equity lines of credit as home values plummet and bankers exercise greater caution. “This is limiting another source of income for the already-strained household,” Sweet said.
So credit cards balances and other expenses, instead of being paid down, are growing beyond the scope of manageability.
The average monthly housing cost for those who contacted CCCS in August was $1,423, a 25 percent increase compared to the same month in 2007.
Additionally, food and fuel costs went up to $638 last month, which is 20 percent higher than in January, the agency reported. “While people seeking help paid less for fuel in August than July, the amount spent on food continues to climb,” CCCS says.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Georgia Almost Secured for McCain at 50 Days Out Mark
On September 11, 2008, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama put aside their party politics to observe the 7-year anniversary of the tragic terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center. On the same day, Senator McCain's ratings among Georgia voters seem to have secured the state's electoral votes for the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Though polls have shown that Georgia has been considered "leaning" towards McCain for some time, political analysts agree that state statistics gathered on Sep. 11, 2008 reflect a solid likelihood the state will once again be red on the electoral map.
According to Real Clear Politics averaging poll, McCain shows a 13.4 lead over Senator Obama in Georgia, with 53.7 percent of the vote as opposed to Obama's 40.3. Unless the state's current political direction does a 180 degree turn in the next 50 days, it appears the state's 15 electoral votes (increased from 12 to 13 in 1992, and from 13 to 15 in 2004) will go to the Republicans.
The state has voted Republican in the past six Presidential elections, with the exception of the 1992 Presidential race when it favored Democrats Gov. Bill Clinton and Sen. Al Gore to George H. Bush and running mate Dan Quayle by an extremely small margin-43.5% to 42.9%. In the past two elections, the state has voted in strong favor of President George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney with a 16.6 lead over Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards in 2004, and an 11.7 lead over Former Vice President Al Gore and his running mate Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2000.
In the Georgia's primaries, Sen. Obama showed a strong lead above his fellow democrats winning 66% of the vote, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 31% and Sen. John Edwards with only 2%. The state's preference for a Republican candidate was far less clear, with the vote being split fairly evenly between Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas with 34%, Senator McCain with 32%, and Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts coming in at a close third with 30%.
Other current and recent political races in the state support the finding that the state will more than likely vote Republican for its part when choosing the next President of the United States in November. In the current Senate race, Georgia voters favor Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss to Democrat Jim Martin 53.5% to 36.7%. In the 2006 election of the state's Governor, Georgia voters elected Republican Sonny Perdue with 53% of the vote, a 15 point lead over Democrat Jim Taylor with 38%.
According to Real Clear Politics averaging poll, McCain shows a 13.4 lead over Senator Obama in Georgia, with 53.7 percent of the vote as opposed to Obama's 40.3. Unless the state's current political direction does a 180 degree turn in the next 50 days, it appears the state's 15 electoral votes (increased from 12 to 13 in 1992, and from 13 to 15 in 2004) will go to the Republicans.
The state has voted Republican in the past six Presidential elections, with the exception of the 1992 Presidential race when it favored Democrats Gov. Bill Clinton and Sen. Al Gore to George H. Bush and running mate Dan Quayle by an extremely small margin-43.5% to 42.9%. In the past two elections, the state has voted in strong favor of President George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney with a 16.6 lead over Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards in 2004, and an 11.7 lead over Former Vice President Al Gore and his running mate Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2000.
In the Georgia's primaries, Sen. Obama showed a strong lead above his fellow democrats winning 66% of the vote, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 31% and Sen. John Edwards with only 2%. The state's preference for a Republican candidate was far less clear, with the vote being split fairly evenly between Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas with 34%, Senator McCain with 32%, and Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts coming in at a close third with 30%.
Other current and recent political races in the state support the finding that the state will more than likely vote Republican for its part when choosing the next President of the United States in November. In the current Senate race, Georgia voters favor Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss to Democrat Jim Martin 53.5% to 36.7%. In the 2006 election of the state's Governor, Georgia voters elected Republican Sonny Perdue with 53% of the vote, a 15 point lead over Democrat Jim Taylor with 38%.
A Brief Political History of Georgia
Georgia, one of the original 13 colonies, entered the Union in January 1788. The state has participated in every presidential election except 1864 (due to secession). From 1868 thru 1960, the state was as “blue” as can be – voting Democratic in every election. Like many other southern states, its residents were conservative Democrats that went “red” in 1964 in response to unhappiness over the Civil Rights Act, which was effectively exploited by the Republicans in a tactic called the “southern strategy.” In 1968, Georgia voted for Independent George Wallace in an election that marked the last time a third-party candidate received any electoral votes. Georgia has been reliably Republican since, except when a southern Democrat was on the ticket – Georgians sided with homegrown Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980 and Bill Clinton in 1992. In 2004, George Bush easily defeated John Kerry by 58% to 41%. Georgia’s population has grown rapidly in recent years, and the state will likely gain an electoral vote in 2012, based on the outcome of the 2010 census.
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