Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies are Drowning Americans in Debt

At a time when Americans owe close to ＄800 billion in credit card debt, the myth is that credit cards are primarily financing America’s luxury lifestyles--helping white suburban families pay the costs attached to extravagant homes, luxury cars, and golf club memberships--or helping those who aspire to these lifestyles. Up to Our Eyeballs reveals the disturbing reality that credit cards are in fact the new ＂safety net,＂ being used by desperate middle- and low-income families to manage essential expenses.

In the increasingly volatile American economy, where a decline in work-related benefits like health insurance and pensions has accompanied a rising cost of living and increased job instability, consumer debt has become a fact of life for many American families. Up to Our Eyeballs is a troubling examination of the causes and consequences of this explosive rise in consumer debt.

Including a critical look at how the financial industry became the aggressive, hyper-profitable industry it is today, this book also incorporates solutions that will be of real relief to struggling households.

Jose Garcia is a senior research and policy associate at Dēmos with over ten years of experience working on civil rights, census advocacy, and socio-demographic analysis.

Jim Lardner is a journalist and the founder of Inequality.org.

Cindy Zeldin is the executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, a non-profit organization that advocates for access to quality, affordable health care for all Georgians through public education and outreach, coalition building, and public policy advocacy. She is a co-author (with Jose Garcia and James Lardner) of Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning Americans in Debt (The New Press).