Third World America - Arianna Huffington [98]
115 In 1958, American Express pioneered: Ben Woolsey and Matt Schulz, “Credit Card Statistics, Industry Facts, Debt Statistics,” 13 May 2010, www.creditcards.com.
116 But the modern credit card industry: Marquette Nat. Bank v. First of Omaha Corp., 439 U.S. 299 (1978).
117 Hoping to lure banks’ business: Robin Stein, “The Ascendancy of the Credit Card Industry,” Frontline, 23 Nov. 2004, www.pbs.org.
118 “In 1980, the typical credit card contract …”: “Elizabeth Warren on Credit Card ‘Tricks and Traps,’ ” NOW, 2 Jan. 2009, www.pbs.org.
119 Fees now account for 39 percent of card issuers’ revenue: Steven Gray and Michael Peltier, “Exposing the Credit-Card Fine Print,” 21 Feb. 2008, www.time.com.
120 In fact, last year, lenders collected more than $20 billion: Robin Sidel, “Banks Roll Out New Check, Card Fees,” 2 Jan. 2010, www.wsj.com.
121 “inactivity fee” for not using their card!: Brad Tuttle, “Credit Card Fee Watch: Now There’s a Fee for NOT Buying Stuff,” 6 Aug. 2009, www.time.com.
122 As a result, according to CreditCards.com: Ben Woolsey and Matt Schultz, “Credit Card Statistics, Industry Facts, Debt Statistics,” 26 Mar. 2010, www.creditcards.com.
123 Half of all college undergraduates: Ibid.
124 According to FinAid, 66 percent of college graduates: “Student Loans,” FinAid: The Smart-Student Guide to Financial Aid, www.finaid.org.
125 In 2008, securities backed by credit card debt: Jessica Silver-Greenberg, “The Next Meltdown: Credit-Card Debt,” 9 Oct. 2008, www.businessweek.com.
126 could be the knockout blow: “Elizabeth Warren on Credit Card ‘Tricks and Traps,’ ” interview with David Brancaccio, NOW, 2 Jan. 2009, www.pbs.org.
127 In March 2010, a FOX News poll found that 79 percent: Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: 79% Say U.S. Economy Could Collapse,” 23 Mar. 2010, www.foxnews.com.
128 An April 2010 Gallup poll revealed: Jeffrey M. Jones, “Americans Remain Down About Their Financial Situations,” 22 Apr. 2010, www.gallup.com.
129 And 21 percent of workers think: Dennis Jacobe, “One in Five Americans Fear Job Loss in Next 12 Months,” 23 Apr. 2010, www.gallup.com.
130 As reported by Don Peck: Don Peck, “How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America,” Mar. 2010, www.theatlantic.com.
131 Researchers at Rutgers University interviewed: Arthur Delaney, “Long-Term Unemployment: 80 Percent of People Jobless Last Summer Still Out of Work,” 4 May 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
132 “The cushion’s completely gone”: Ibid.
133 came word that an Oklahoma Tea Party group: Sean Murphy and Tim Talley, “Oklahoma Tea Party Plans to Form Armed Militia,” Associated Press, 12 Apr. 2010.
134 The FBI was investigating an antigovernment extremist group: Michael Winter, “Anti-Government Group Tells Governors to Resign or Be Removed,” 2 Apr. 2010, www.usatoday.com.
135 This followed the arrests of members: Brett Michael Dykes, “Who are the Christian Militia ‘Hutaree’ and Why Was the FBI Targeting Them?” 29 Mar. 2010, www.yahoo.com.
136 When Tea Party members gathered for tax-day protests: Nick Wing and Jeremy Binckes, “Tea Parties Protest Tax Day 2010,” 17 Apr. 2010, www.huffingtonpost.com.
137 Sarah Palin urged her supporters to “reload”: Ron Fournier, “Sarah Palin Tells GOP ‘Don’t Retreat—Reload’ at Southern Republican Leadership Conference,” Associated Press, 9 Apr. 2010.
138 Michele Bachmann said she wants her constituents: Rachel Weiner, “Michele Bachmann: I Want People ‘Armed and Dangerous’ over Obama Tax Plan,” 23 Mar. 2009, www.huffingtonpost.com.
139 According to Rage on the Right: Mark Potok, Rage on the Right: The Year in Hate and Extremism, Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report No. 137, Spring 2010, www.splcenter.org.
140 “Discontent with the present and apprehension …”: Tim Rutten, “The Winter of America’s Discontent,” 5 Feb. 2010, www.latimes.com.
141 “There are times—they mark the danger point for a political system …”: Ian Kershaw, Hitler: A Biography (New York: W. W. Norton, 2008), 206.
142 For example, in the 1880s, as the post–Civil War Gilded Age: Rebecca Edwards,