Your relationship with credit cards?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Buy now, pay later... seems to be the American way.
A new Gallup poll takes a look at Americans' habits when it comes to their credit cards. When asked how they pay their credit card bills each month, 43% of those surveyed say they always pay the full amount. 17% say they usually do. 25% say they usually leave a balance, and 12% say they usually pay the minimum amount due. Only 1% pay less than the minimum. Credit-card holders have an average of about 4 cards.
When it comes to those who carry a balance, 30% say they have a balance of more than $2,000. 19% have a balance of more than $5,000, and 9% say more than $10,000.
The good news is people might be getting a little smarter about using their plastic. In April, the Fed said consumers actually used their credit cards less. And the poll found that the percentage of people who say they leave a balance or make the minimum payment on their credit cards has actually gone down over the past few years.
This suggests that the shaky economy has more people thinking twice before whipping out their charge card. But it's also a difficult situation for millions of people trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Just today the government reported the cost of living rose for Americans last month. Inflation increased 4.2%, led by surging energy costs.
Here’s my question to you: How would you describe your relationship with your credit cards?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Historians: little chance for McCain in Nov.
Click the Play Button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Don't bet on John McCain being the next president… that's the message coming from several presidential scholars.
The Politico reports these historians paint a bleak picture for the Republican candidate. They also say Barack Obama has the best chance of any Democrat perhaps since FDR beat Herbert Hoover in 1932.
The historians say it should be "an overwhelming Democratic victory," noting McCain is facing one of the worst political environments for the party in power since World War II.
There's also this: only twice in the 20th century did the candidate from the same party as a two-term president go on to win the White House. The last time was in 1988, when President Bush's father replaced Ronald Reagan... but Reagan was twice as popular as the current president is now.
But McCain does have some advantages, including the fact that a lot of people don't see him as a traditional Republican. Also, McCain could appeal more to moderates than Obama. If the public ends up seeing the Democrat as "far left." And, McCain might benefit from leftover divisions in the Democratic Party from the primary.
Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll suggests the American people agree with these historians: 52% of those surveyed think Obama will win, regardless of who they support. 41% say McCain.
And the world is weighing in too: a Pew poll – of 25,000 people in 24 countries – found that in all but two nations, people put more faith in Obama than in McCain to "do the right thing" when it comes to world affairs. One of the two exceptions: the United States.
Here’s my question to you: Many historians doubt John McCain stands much of a chance in November. How can he change their minds?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Bush reportedly wants bin Laden captured before leaving office
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Bush has reportedly ordered a final attempt to capture Osama bin Laden before he leaves office.
The Times of London reports that the president has enlisted British special forces to help get the job done. Sources in both Washington and London confirm to the newspaper that a renewed hunt is under way. One source says: "If President Bush can say he killed Saddam Hussein and captured bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place."
British special forces have been participating in U.S. operations to catch the terrorist leader in northern Pakistan, but it's the first time they're crossing into Afghanistan regularly.
Of course, no one knows where Osama bin Laden is. He has eluded capture for almost seven years now. Some experts think he's in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. One Pentagon source says that U.S. forces are trying to push al Qaeda in Pakistan toward the Afghan border, where they'd have a better shot at catching him.
But, the increase in U.S. military action is not sitting well with the Pakistanis. Last week, they were outraged about what they claimed was an airstrike on a border post with Afghanistan that killed 11 of its troops. The U.S. says it's still "not exactly clear" what happened.
Here’s my question to you: President Bush wants Osama bin Laden captured before leaving office. How important is it at this point?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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