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Americans are doing more than just accruing debt. Many surrender up to a quarter of their wages to creditors, NPR said. When debtors don't pay off their debt, creditors can take them to court to demand payment from their wages. - photo by istockphoto.com/RBFried

Ten percent of middle-aged Americans have their wages slashed by debtors, NPR reported last week, and over $50 billion in consumer credit card debt will likely be added to America’s existing debt in 2014, according to a recent study by CardHub.
The average American-consumer household paid off about $350 in credit card debt at the beginning of the year, says CardHub, making a total of $32 billion. Unfortunately, the second quarter was not as impressive and Americans are tracking to gain almost $55 billion in card debt by the end of the year.
But Americans are doing more than just accruing debt. Many surrender up to a quarter of their wages to creditors, NPR said. When debtors don’t pay off their debt, creditors can take them to court to demand payment from their wages.
“One in 10 working Americans between the ages of 35 and 44 are getting their wages garnished,” reported NPR, “often over an old credit card debt, medical bill or student loan.”
Federal law shields 75 percent of a worker’s paycheck—or 30 times minimum wage if it’s more — according to a study by the National Consumer Law Center. But that 75 percent could end up being pretty small. Especially since this kind of action happens most among the “middle-aged, blue-collar workers and lower-income employees,” said NPR.
According to the NCLC study, a worker could get pay cut down to $217.50 a week, “less than half of the federal poverty guideline,” if you’re a family with four people.
But not every state is the same. The NCLC study broke it down by state. New York protects 90 percent of wages and Texas doesn’t let debtors garnish wages at all, while Utah follows the federal limit of 75 percent.
This usually happens after a court hearing, but the Environmental Protection Agency found its way around that rule in July, reported Forbes’ Chris Prandoni.
So at least most creditors have to ask first.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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