As real wages stagnate and as energy prices continue their steep climb, Americans have reached the bottom of their pockets and have found only credit cards. Going into debt is becoming increasingly common as many Americans see their wages fail to keep pace with inflation. A new survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlin Rosner Research for a consortium of organizations interested in household debt (Center for American Progress, Center for Responsible Lending, National Military Families Association, and the American Association of Retired Persons) found that :an overwhelming majority of Americans, 82%, view household debt as a "serious problem." The public’s concern over this issue results from perceptions of an economy performing unevenly, from perceptions of rising costs of living, and for a surprising and pressing number, from first-hand experience with excess or unmanageable debt. Despite the prominence of pay-day loan artists and other debt merchants in low-income neighborhoods throughout the country, the public does not see this is as a "lower class" problem, but a growing threat to the American middle class and the American dream.