The Texas Thrift Coalition is a nonpartisan, volunteer group of leaders and organizations whose goal is to promote thrift and encourage savings as a path to family prosperity in Texas. In 2011, the group published Thrift or Debt: Which Direction is Right for Texas? which found: Texas families face a savings crisis; anti-thrift institutions are trapping Texas families in debt; Texans see a danger in the rise of the anti-thrifts; Texans oppose the expansion of state-sponsored gambling; and Texans want to save more. The coalition issued the following recommendations:
To Oppose Debt
- close payday lenders’ “lucrative loophole”
- protect military families from payday lenders
- vote “no” on casino gambling
To Support Thrift
- to create a Texas “Savings Ticket”
- promote alternatives to payday lenders
- bring back national thrift week
Thrift or Debt – An Appeal to the Texas Legislature From the Texas Thrift Coalition