Dennis RomeroLos Angeles' city government might have been on the brink of bankruptcy in recent years, but its residents, at least, are good with their money.
Note how we turned down a half-cent tax hike earlier this month. (Good thing, because Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa turned around and, days later, said that things were looking up for the government's budget). Californians in general seem to be better with their money than other Americans (or politicians):
Credit card website Card Hub this week said that L.A. ranks seventh in the nation in terms of household budgeting, noting a 52 percent debt to income ratio (that's good?) and a five percent bankruptcy and foreclosure rate among its residents.
The left coast did well, with San Diego coming in third on this list of best budgeters and San Francisco coming in fourth.
Credit: Card Hub
(It was only 10 years ago or so that San Diego's own City Hall was facing bankruptcy as well).
1. Boston, MA
2. New York, NY
3. San Diego, CA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Minneapolis, MN
6. Washington, DC
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Baltimore, MD
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Seattle, WA
Interestingly, number-24 Las Vegas ended up at the low-end of the rankings, among the “worst,” card hub says.
Card Hub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou says the Great Recession has put many of us back on track, forcing us to maintain a budget and live within our means. Still, we spend:
We've collectively incurred roughly $82 billion in new credit card debt over the past two years alone, and we simply cannot continue to live that way. As we've seen before, it's unsustainable and a recipe for disaster. Let's hope we don't see evidence of that again.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.