Today the Center for Enterprise Development released state by state scorecards on financial security of residents. NDESPA
is the Lead State Organization for the CFED Assets & Opportunities
Scorecard and organized a press conference to make the public aware of the
of how prevalent poverty is in North Dakota – in spite of the states prosperity
– and to highlight some pieces of legislation that would help low and moderate
income, working families, to build assets for the future.
28% of North
Dakota Residents Have Almost No Savings to Cover Emergencies or Save for the
Future
State Ranks 3rd Overall for the
Financial Stability of its Residents
Washington, D.C. — While North Dakota’s
booming economy and supportive policies lend to a system of financial security
for the majority of residents, more than one in four North Dakota residents are
living on the edge of financial disaster with almost no savings to fall back on
in the event of a job loss, health crisis or other income-depleting emergency,
according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development
(CFED).
The
2013 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard
defines these residents as “liquid asset poor,” which means they lack adequate
savings to cover basic expenses at the federal poverty level for just three
months if they suffer a loss of stable income. Included in this group are a
majority of North Dakota residents
who live below the official income poverty line of $23,050 for a family of
four, as well as many who would consider themselves middle class. Although a
family of four would need just $5,762 in savings to meet basic needs for three
months, growing numbers of middle class households in our state fall short of
that amount.
Without
savings, these families have limited hope of building a more prosperous future
for themselves or their children, including saving for college, buying a home
or setting aside money for retirement.
“In
order to cope with the recession’s continued impact, these families have had to
prioritize today’s expenses over tomorrow’s goals,” said Andrea Levere,
president of CFED. She called the findings “particularly disturbing given the
ongoing budget talks in Congress that will likely result in further reductions
in the social safety net and other programs that help low- and moderate-income
people get on the their feet and start planning and saving for a better
future.”
Published
annually, the Assets & Opportunity
Scorecard offers the most comprehensive look available at Americans’
ability to save and build wealth, fend off poverty and create a more prosperous
future. The Scorecard explores how
well residents are faring in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and
assesses policies that are helping residents build and protect assets across
five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing
& Homeownership, Health Care and Education.
North
Dakota ranks 3rd in the country overall in the ability of residents
to achieve financial security. The Scorecard
evaluates states across 53 measures within the five different issue areas.
North Dakota holds the nation’s top rating in Financial Assets & Income,
and has the lowest number of consumers with subprime credit (borrowers who are
90 day or more overdue on debt payments) and average credit card debt.
Similarly, North Dakota is 1st in the nation in several measures in
Housing & Homeownership, including the affordability of homes, housing cost
burden of homeowners and delinquent mortgages loans. However, an area of
concern for North Dakota is disparities in outcomes by race, with people of
color falling far behind white North Dakotans. Disparities in unemployment and
business ownership by race in North Dakota are the worst in the nation, and
disparities in health insurance coverage by race are the second worst. North
Dakotans of color are six times more likely to be unemployed and three times
more likely to be uninsured than white North Dakotans. With a few key policy
adjustments, North Dakota could lead the nation in all categories of financial
security for residents.
