While the recession has noticeably affected the lives of people in all walks of life, a recent study suggests that the elderly may have been among the hardest hit during the economic downturn.

According to a recent report released by public policy group Demos, Americans aged 65 years and older were one of the most susceptible groups to falling into debt during the current recession, the Washington Post reported.

The report found that older low- and middle- income Americans who carried a debt balance for more than three months had an average credit card debt of $10,235. The number reflected a 26 percent increase over the same figures taken in 2005, well before the recession began.

The reasoning for such burgeoning debt from older Americans was found to primarily be due to their need to pay off rising medical costs that they incurred while dealing with stingy health insurance providers using credit cards they could not necessarily afford.

Instead of exhausting a credit card on essential medical expenses and putting themselves further into debt, elder Americans could also consider taking out short term loans to cover their expenses.

The formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency is an “absurd” notion that does nothing more than add a “new bureaucracy” that will limit consumer credit agencies” innovation, according to a recent editorial in a Utah newspaper.

The editorial published in the Deseret News on Monday argued that the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which was passed last month by the House Financial Services Committee and will have the power to regulate all consumer credit agencies such as payday lenders, would harm the industry by removing risks that stifle new ideas.

While it argued that the CFPA would not harm some aspects of the industry that are firmly rooted in the economy, it would make it harder for companies to introduce new ideas.

“If a bank were to offer something new that no one had thought of previously, what then? The new agency would have the power to set rules, ban products and hand out penalties,” the paper argues. “As its charge would be to minimize risks, the natural inclination would be to curb innovative thinking.”

The formation of the CFPA has also come under fire from those who issue payday loans because of the potential implementation of rate caps on short term lenders that would limit their profitability and send them out of business, hurting the consumers who are depending on the loans.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has come out in opposition of the House Financial Services Committee’s decision to create a new oversight committee to regulate the credit industry, which includes the payday loan industry.

In a statement released following the passage of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency by the subcommittee last month, MBA Chairman, Robert E. Story, Jr. released a statement expressing “regret” that the agency had been approved.

Story said the MBA supported a uniform reform of lending standards across the country, and had even developed its own proposal that would minimize regulatory gaps by creating a federal regulator for independent mortgage banks.

“Instead, the bill, as approved by the committee, would continue today’s patchwork of state and local laws that present implementation challenges for lenders who operate in multiple states and lead to increased costs for consumers,” he added.

He concluded that the creation of a national regulator for mortgage banks would not only provide better protection for consumers, but would empower existing regulators to continue overseeing financial institutions.

Despite the lack of Republican support, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd has decided to move ahead with his legislation to revamp the nation’’s financial markets.

Dodd, a Democratic from Connecticut, announced his intention to meet with his committee to make some changes to the legislation – which includes the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency that could impose laws that have a detrimental effect on the payday loan industry – before bringing it up for a vote.

“I”ve certainly been reaching out, and they know that, to try to develop a consensus bill,” said Dodd, according to Bloomberg. “My intention is to go forward. This is an area that demands our attention.”

While Dodd seems to have the support of other Democrats, the lack of Republican backing could be a fatal flaw when it comes before the Senate for a vote. The opposition by the GOP is being spearheaded by Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, who is also the top ranking member of the party in the Senate Banking Committee.

Shelby has stated that while he doesn’t oppose means of consumer protection that are needed, the creation of the CFPA is “neither necessary nor wise,” according to his spokesman.

Americans may be in line to see an increase in their travel costs this holiday season, as crude oil prices jumped nearly 10 percent over the month of October.

For families who find themselves in financial duress and unable to perform necessary travel duties for their jobs due to rising gas costs, a payday loan may be a realistic way to cover the additional costs.

Despite a 3.6 percent decrease on Friday, crude oil futures for December posted a 9 percent increase from September to October, leaving prices at $77 per barrel.

According AAA, prices at gas pumps continued to rise as well, increasing for 16 straight days to end the month of October, averaging 2.69-per-gallon, the Associated Press reported.

A primary reason for the increase was due to gradual improvements in the economy. The U.S. Commerce department recently revealed that the gross domestic product increased by 3.5 percent in Q3 2009.

“Any sort of encouragement with the economy is potentially bullish for oil,” said oil trader and analyst Stephen Schork.

If the price-per-barrel continues to rise, so will the prices at gas stations. According to the Hartford Courant, every $1 increase in barrel prices equates to a 2.4 cent-per-gallon price increase for consumers.

As politicians continue to consider implementing new regulations that could hamper the efforts of short term lenders, those who benefit from payday loans are coming forward and expressing their desire to have the industry be left alone.

According to the Community Financial Services Association of America, the House Financial Services Committee has been inundated with thousands of letters from payday loan users who want to “preserve access” to the loans. The letters arrived as the committee was discussing the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a new oversight committee that would govern consumer credit agencies including those who offer short term loans.

“It is obvious from the letters that people who have used payday loans fully understand the terms, greatly appreciate the option and do not want Congress to limit their credit choices,” said D. Lynn DeVault, president of them CFSA. “The payday lending industry is unique in that customers like the product exactly as it is. I don’t think banks, credit cards or even credit unions can say the same.”

Additionally, regulations are being considered to institute rate caps to lower annual percentage rates for loans that Ernst & Young said last week could “cripple” the industry if instituted.

A decision by a Missouri city establishing a moratorium on new payday loan businesses has angered some politicians who think imposing limitations on a business that is already regulated is wrong.

The decision, which was approved by the City Council of Columbia on Tuesday, instituted a six-month moratorium on any new payday loan businesses within city limits to help gather information on the industry for further evaluation, the Columbia Missourian reported.

However, despite the vote’s results, some still opposed the creation of the moratorium. Second Ward Councilman Jason Thornhill and Fifth Ward Councilman Laura Nauser both objected to the moratorium.

Nauser told the Missourian that she was not comfortable with legislation because it investigated a legal business that already had state regulations in place governing it.

A number of payday loan lenders and politicians have come forward in recent weeks speaking out against legislation that could compromise the short term loan industry. Last month a House subcommittee approved the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would be responsible for governing over all consumer credit agencies.

With many major metropolitan areas in need of revenue, motorists in some cities across the country have seen an increase in the amount of tickets being handed out by authorities this year.

Following the city of Chicago’’s leasing of its parking meters to a private company last December – which has so far resulted in numerous complaints of broken meters and spawned a lawsuit – the city has seen a 26 percent jump in the amount of parking tickets issued in 2009.

According to the Chicago Tribune, records from the city Department of Revenue show that police have issued approximately 327,650 tickets for meter violations in the first eight months of 2009 and totaled approximately $119.2 million in revenue.

The revenue numbers were $7 million higher than figures from the same time period in 2008 that only saw 259,849 tickets issued.

Similarly, outside of New York City in Suffolk County, New York Newsday reported that county executive Steve Levy found that deputy sheriffs had written twice as many traffic tickets between March 15 and September 15 than they had in the six months prior.

If you have recently fallen victim to the unexpected expense of a parking ticket and cannot get a bank loan in time to avoid a court date, taking out a cash advance may be a possible solution to avoid further troubles.

Families struggling financially will now have a chance to buy food economically and in bulk, as Costco has announced it will accept food stamps at all of its locations nationwide.

According to the Seattle Times, half of the stores will likely have the means to accept food stamps by Thanksgiving. The stores will only offer their food products as eligible to be purchased by food stamps, other items such as diapers or pre-made hot food would not be.

Costco had toyed with the idea of accepting food stamps earlier this year, albeit in a much smaller scope. In June two New York City-area stores in Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn began accepting food stamps on trial basis. Months later, Costco CEO Jim Sinegal said that the economic situation had dictated that the program become more widespread.

“The rules are different today,” he said, according to the Times. “People who were in good shape financially all of the sudden are needing some assistance.”

With many struggling to purchase essential items for their household such as food – food-stamp users recently hit 36 million in the U.S., according to the Associated Press – taking out a payday loan may be another solution for immediate money needs for one’s family.

More and more representatives from cash advance businesses are coming out in defense of their industry, arguing that they are helping those in need instead of hurting them.

Ryan H. Harris wrote a letter in the Montgomery Advertiser Monday in response to a previous article from an Alabama Poverty Project representative pushing to limit payday lending practices in Alabama.

Harris, a communications manager for the Cleveland, Tennessee-based Check Into Cash short term loan company, disagreed with claims that the payday loan product was a “broken product” that cannot keep track of how many loans a borrower is taking out and whether or not they have the ability to pay them back.

Saying that Alabama’’s payday advance industry works “under strict state guidelines that protect customers,” he said that state regulations only allow for a loan to be rolled over one time – and added that his business in Tennessee allowed no rollovers.

“It is true that it’s not a perfect world, and consumers sometimes need to turn to short-term credit options like payday loans to make ends meet, he said. “But stripping away a consumer option like payday lending is not the answer, and will only stand to further hurt hard-working Alabamians.”