Monday, July 1, 1996

Texas Poll: 48 percent of Texans struggling to pay bills

By DEBORAH WILKINS
Harte-Hanks Texas Poll Syndicate
(c) 1996 Harte-Hanks Communications

Nearly half of Texans are having difficulty paying their monthly bills, according to The Harte-Hanks Texas Poll.

Younger Texans, minorities and those with less education are having the most trouble paying their bills.

Overall, 48 percent of Texans find it very difficult or somewhat difficult to meet monthly payments compared with 51 percent who say it's not very difficult or not difficult at all.

Texans' problems with monthly bills could be more related to easy access to credit cards and spending on extravagances rather than inability to pay for life's necessities, said Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas.

But the numbers also could reflect that job growth in Texas has not translated into real income growth for many Texans, said Weinstein, a professor of applied economics.

"The per capita income in Dallas is among the highest, but that's not true throughout the entire state. Maybe what the Harte-Hanks poll is showing is that while the Texas economy is in good shape, the benefits are not evenly spread geographically or across all economic statuses.

"You've heard a lot of the growing gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. This also could be happening in Texas," he said.

Twenty-one percent of those making $60,000 or more found it difficult to make monthly payments compared with 76 percent of Texans who earn less than $10,000.

Other incomes groups were $50,000 to $60,000, 43 percent; $40,000 to $50,000, 41 percent; $30,000 to $40,000, 47 percent; and $20,000 to $30,000, 55 percent.

Weinstein also said the poll results could reflect hardships or more pessimistic attitudes by farmers, ranchers and related businesses in West and South Texas, where the drought is damaging crops.

Sixty percent of Texans in West Texas are finding it difficult to make monthly payments compared with 42 percent in North Texas. Other regions and percentages are 55 percent of South Texans; 50 percent of East Texans; 49 percent in Central Texas; and 45 percent of those living on the Gulf.

Younger Texans, those with less education and minorities are having the most difficult time paying their bills.

For example, 67 percent of Texans with a ninth-, 10th- or 11th-grade education have difficulty paying their monthly bills, compared with 36 percent of college graduates.

And younger Texans have more difficulty paying their monthly bills than any other age group - 55 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds. That compares with 35 percent of 60- to 94-year-olds.

In an ethnic breakdown, Hispanics have the most difficulty paying their monthly bills - 64 percent, compared with 61 percent of blacks and 42 percent of Anglos.

David Melton, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of South Texas, said monthly bill problems often are related to overspending on credit cards.

One of the best things families can do to work themselves out of credit card debt is to aggressively attack their balances, Melton said.

Melton advises people to pay every available dollar you can to the debt with the highest interest rate, or to the one that has the smallest balance. He calls this "power paying." The next thing to consider after trimming debt is to cut the number of credit cards.

"I've seen people in the (Rio Grande) Valley near the poverty level that have six or seven credit cards," Melton said. "The solicitation machine is out there. If you have decent credit, no marks against you, or another credit card - no matter how you got it - then you're going to be solicited."

Melton said another reason families so easily build up debt and get in trouble with monthly payments is their optimism about the economy or job security.

"When there is a general feeling of confidence about the economy, people are more willing to mortgage future income for present benefit," he said.

In fact, the Harte-Hanks Texas Poll found that fewer Texans were worried about maintaining their standard of living during the next 12 months than were worried four years ago in the winter of 1992.

Thirty-six percent are worried or somewhat worried compared with 45 percent in 1992; and 63 percent are not very worried or not at all worried, compared with 54 percent in 1992.

The number of Texans concerned about job security is about the same as four years ago. Twenty-five percent of Texans are worried about either themselves or their spouse losing their job within the next 12 months, with 68 percent not worried. In 1992, 26 percent were worried about job loss and 52 percent were not.

The poll also measured support for a minimum wage increase, with 80 percent favoring an increase compared with 75 percent in the summer of 1988.

The poll was conducted June 3-13 for Harte-Hanks Communications Inc. by the Office of Survey Research of the University of Texas. About 1,000 adults were surveyed by telephone in a systematic random sample. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points and slightly larger for subgroups.