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GA Governor Candidate Stacey Abrams Says Her $200,000 Debt Shouldn’t Disqualify Her

GA Governor Candidate Stacey Abrams Says Her $200,000 Debt Shouldn’t Disqualify Her

Having a debt of $200,000 may seem like a lot, but it’s actually more common than you think. Stacey Abrams is the Democratic front runner in Georgia’s governor race and she has revealed she owes more than $200K. Last month, financial disclosure forms revealed Abrams owes $50,000 in back taxes and has $170,000 in credit card and student loan debt, CNN reported.

But she is not alone. According to a 2017 survey by Northwestern Mutual,  about three-quarters of Americans are in debt. And the average debt (not including mortgage debt) is $37,000 with one in ten people admitting their debt is more than $100,000.

Abrams doesn’t think her debt should keep her out of the running to become the first Black female governor of Georgia. In an op-ed piece she wrote for Fortune, Abrams said: “I am in debt, but I am not alone. Debt is a millstone that weighs down more than three-quarters of Americans. It can determine whether we are able to run for office, to launch a business, to quit a job we hate. But it should not—and cannot—be a disqualification for ambition.”

She went on to explain how she accumulated such high debt. Like many, her family never discussed money and she wasn’t taught financial responsibility.  She wrote: “I grew up one of six children with working-class parents in the Deep South. My mother was a college librarian and my father worked in a shipyard. I never saw them balance a checkbook, but they kept a roof over our heads and got all six of us into college. I went on to Yale Law School, and eventually landed my first law firm job, where I made $95,000—three times what my parents made, combined.”

Still, she found herself financially unstable, with the burden of student loans. So she relied, as many do, on credit cards.

Family responsibilities also weighed her down financially. “In 2006, my youngest brother and his girlfriend had a child they could not care for due to their drug addictions. Instead, my parents took custody when my niece was five days old,” Abrams revealed. “Underpaid, raising an infant, and battling their own illnesses, my parents’ bills piled up. I took on much of the financial responsibility to support them, and even today remain their main source of financial support.”

So 20 years after graduation, Abrams still found herself paying off student loans in addition to IRS debt and credit card bills. This is a situation many American find themselves in. As Abrams wrote, ”Even with a well-paid job, we often live paycheck to paycheck.”

And, of course, race and gender are factors as women still earn less than white males. And Black women make even less. “In 2013, the average wealth per U.S. household was $81,000. But dig into the numbers and a clearer picture appears: White families averaged $142,000 in wealth, Latinx households came in at $13,700, and black families brought up the rear at $11,000. Asian Americans are closer to whites than other people of color, but they still lag. The combined effects of discrimination in labor, housing, and education have compounded the struggle for wealth among communities of color,” Abrams wrote.

She went on to discuss the wage gap. “In 2016, women working full-time were generally paid only 80% of what men received. That missing 20% becomes almost 40% for Black women and nearly half for Latinas,” she wrote.

Abrams has been a member of the Georgia House of Representatives since 2006 and is Democratic front runner in the state’s governor race. The primary is set for May 22.