The Other Side

The other side of all those cheap made china goods.

The culprit isn't just those sub-prime loans. With jobs and wages are dropping across America, many people who had been able to pay their bills no longer can.

It's no coincidence that states where mortgage delinquencies are highest are also states with the highest rates of job losses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official rate of unemployment in California last month was 7.7 percent. That's up from 5.5 percent a year ago. In Florida, unemployment has climbed to 6.5 percent, from 4.1 percent a year ago. No surprise that bad debts are mounting fastest in California and Florida - and elsewhere around the country where jobs are evaporating fastest.