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Report: Ga. ranked worst in residents' financial security

More than 30 percent of Georgia households have little to no financial cushion, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

The 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard ranks Georgia worst, No. 51, in the nation overall on residents achieving financial security.

The study uses 52 measures in five different issue areas to measure financial security: Financial Assets & Income, Business & Jobs, Housing & Home ownership, Health Care and Education. Many Georgians have jobs, but lack adequate savings or other assets to cover basic expenses for three months if they lose a steady income, according to the findings.

The scorecard compares Americans' ability to save and build wealth, stay out of poverty and create a more stable future.

Georgia gets an F in Financial Assets & Income, so residents are economically vulnerable, according to the report. The state ranks in the bottom five states in unbanked households, bankruptcy rate, consumers with subprime credit and borrowers who are more than 90 days overdue.

Georgia ranks 47th in uninsured rate; 41st in uninsured low-income children and 46th in uninsured low-income parents.

The scorecard lists several policy solutions that can help Georgia promote financial well-being and stability for all residents. To address high rates of poverty, Georgia should enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit and remove the disincentive to save for very low income families by lifting asset limits in the TANF and family Medicaid programs, according to the report.

The CFED scorecard offers a national picture where low and moderate-income families continue to fall further down the economic ladder more than two years after the official end of the recession.

To see the complete scorecard go to http://scorecard.cfed.org. 

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