According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics
(www.nabe.com) the combined threat of subprime loan defaults and excessive indebtedness has overtaken terrorism
and the Middle East as the biggest short-term threat to the U.S. economy. 32% of the survey participants cited loan
defaults and excessive debt as the biggest threat, compared to only 20% citing terrorism as the biggest threat 64% of
the people polled who carry debt admitted that debt is a cause of worry for them (www.bankrate.com).