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Credit Counselors Go Risque With their Message

'Keep it in your pants' is their new slogan

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 7, 2008

The "it" being referred to here is the growing problem of "Debt Disease" among young Americans.

With the biggest banks in the United States — including the nation's largest bank by deposits, Bank of America — increasingly marketing credit cards to college students in particular, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the League of Young Voters has unveiled "Keep It In Your Pants", a video contest with a top prize of $5,000 for the best student-made public service announcement (PSA) running 30-60 seconds.

"Credit card debt can ruin your life, spreading and growing like a disease," said Stephen Lerner, SEIU Assistant to the President and Director of the Private Equity Project. "We're warning young people of the dangers of 'Debt Disease' —and urging them to protect themselves the same way they would against any other dangerous and contagious social epidemic."

The first-place winner of the "Keep It In Your Pants" contest -- open to students 14 years of age and older enrolled in middle school, junior high, high school, college, or graduate school -- will receive a $5,000 scholarship for school-related expenses.

Four runners-up will each win a $500 scholarship for school-related expenses. Submissions will be accepted at www.KeepItInYourPants.org until March 12, 2008. Semi-finalists will be announced on April 2, 2008 and the winner will be announced at a red-carpet event on April 23, 2008. Complete rules are available online.

With Americans holding nearly one trillion dollars in credit card debt nationally, "Debt Disease" is a growing issue among college-age individuals in particular. Some of the biggest banks in the country employ troubling practices that contribute to Americans — including students — going deeper and deeper into debt.

KeepItInYourPants.org explains what "Debt Disease" is, how it can be caught, and how to avoid it, providing statistics including:

• The average American carries as many as nine different credit cards.

• College students are one of the credit card industry's fastest-growing markets. It is estimated that 78% of college students have at least one credit card.

• The biggest banks already control the majority of the credit cards issued in the United States, and Bank of America controls 1 in 5 credit cards and 1/5 of the credit card debt in the country.

• 82% of Americans believe household debt is a serious problem and the general public is more concerned about falling into debt than about being the victim of a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

To draw parallels between "Debt Disease" and other social epidemics, the Web site points would-be contributors to examples of current and past videos, including venereal disease-related educational films from the 1940s-1970s.

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