Credit scores in Southern States are bad

[jimbogumbo]

Worse than other US areas. "Obvious" demographic reasons don't hold up. The likely culprit was a surprise to me: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/17/bad-southern-credit-scores/

[dismalist]

That's good stuff, jimbo.

Here is a non gated version of the story.

https://worldnewsera.com/news/entrepreneurs/analysis-why-does-the-south-have-such-ugly-credit-scores/

The top picture is complete here, and hits you in the face.

In addition to being a decent news story, the link contains further links to real papers.

The conclusion of the story, which I will not divulge either, is surely endogenous, depending on race, some have said, or poverty, I would say, or both.

[nebo113]

And southern states tend to be Republican, lower medicaid rates, higher rates of poor health, lack of access to medical  care.  Sad.

[Anselm]

FICO scores are a joke.  I paid off my car loan and I lost 40 points due to the fact that it looks better if I have a mix of different kids of loans.  I was punished for making a financially wise decision which saved me money on insurance after I raised my deductible.   I also dropped down 90 points right after I bought the car.  You can't win with these people.

[lightning]

FICO scores are a joke.  I paid off my car loan and I lost 40 points due to the fact that it looks better if I have a mix of different kids of loans.  I was punished for making a financially wise decision which saved me money on insurance after I raised my deductible.   I also dropped down 90 points right after I bought the car.  You can't win with these people.

Agreed.

I have no debts. Not even a mortgage. Everything has been paid off for a long time. During this time, my FICO score went down.

Do I care? No. I don't even know what my FICO score is anymore. I don't borrow money. Fvck FICO. 

excerpt from the article

rewards programs such as American Express Gold effectively siphon billions of dollars a year from lower-income counties, many of them in the South, and transfer the cash to well-heeled enclaves loaded with professionals who tend to take advantage of such programs.

Now, I know who is paying for my credit card rewards. I knew it was people who carried a credit card balance from month to month, but I never knew it was people concentrated in a specific region.

And southern states tend to be Republican, lower medicaid rates, higher rates of poor health, lack of access to medical  care.  Sad.

I always kind of felt a little guilty for getting travel rewards for someone else's misfortune and/or bad life choices. I pay for EVERYTHING on two credit cards, and I pay off the entire balance every month. For this, I reap really nice credit card rewards. Rather than feeling guilty, I now get a sense of satisfaction from knowing that Trump country & their bad state politicians who refused to expand Medicare and Trump voters & their bad choices of said politicians and probably their own personal choices are the majority of folks who are paying for my expensive vacations.

[secundem_artem]

That region is what those of us in health care refer to as "The Stroke Belt".  The redder your state, the worse pretty much any outcome is. 

[downer]

Health care is a major problem all over the world, but especially in the US. Often it seems totally intractable in the US. It's nice to see that some public policy actually makes a difference for some states.

[apl68]

Some southern states did opt to expand Medicaid, so while that's undoubtedly a part of the explanation, it may not be the whole story.

[Juvenal]

FICO?  They plead with me to spend more, more.  Checking my wallet. Where's the credit card?  Oh, behind the Starbuck's one, caffeine-sticky.