The Briefing Room
General Category => Economy/Business => Topic started by: catfish1957 on August 03, 2022, 05:10:54 pm
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(https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/magicvalley.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/03/4036ba9f-5b06-5be0-98cd-9c0192207f59/59ee688050dbe.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/02/economy/consumer-credit-borrowing-surge/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/02/economy/consumer-credit-borrowing-surge/index.html)
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Americans are piling up credit card debt as they struggle to keep up with the high cost of living....
New York (CNN)-Americans are piling up credit card debt as they struggle to keep up with the high cost of living.
US household debt surpassed $16 trillion for the first time ever during the second quarter, the New York Federal Reserve said Tuesday.
Even as borrowing costs surge, the NY Fed said credit card balances increased by $46 billion last quarter.
Over the past year, credit card debt has jumped by $100 billion, or 13%, the biggest percentage increase in more than 20 years. Credit cards typically charge high interest rates when balances aren't fully paid off, making this an expensive form of debt.
The NY Fed said the credit card binge at least partly reflects inflation as prices rise at the fastest pace in more than four decades.
"The impacts of inflation are apparent in high volumes of borrowing," NY Fed researchers wrote in a blog post.
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Seems the American consumer is taking a cue from its government toward taking debt leverage over a cliff. This dog chasing its tail into a sea of debt, has no good ending.
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Still less than Federal Government debt.
It's amazing how 535 people in Congress can accumulate more debt than 330 million.
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Still less than Federal Government debt.
It's amazing how 535 people in Congress can accumulate more debt than 330 million.
The difference here is that the $16 trillion borrowed by consumers came from dollars that were already in existence. And unlike Congress, this debt (accumulating double-digit interest) will actually have to be repaid at some point, eventually at the point of a gun.
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Still less than Federal Government debt.
It's amazing how 535 people in Congress can accumulate more debt than 330 million.
It's at least implied that citizens pay debt back. There is no such illusion in congress.
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The difference here is that the $16 trillion borrowed by consumers came from dollars that were already in existence. And unlike Congress, this debt (accumulating double-digit interest) will actually have to be repaid at some point, eventually at the point of a gun.
No guns. If it comes to it, that’s what bankruptcy is for.
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No guns. If it comes to it, that’s what bankruptcy is for.
The people who repo your car will have guns. The people who evict you from your property will have guns.
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Why would Congressmen worry about paying other people's debt?
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The people who repo your car will have guns. The people who evict you from your property will have guns.
Only if I haven't filed a bankruptcy petition first. Once that's filed, they'll get their balls nailed to the wall if they try any self-help; even a secured creditor has to get approval from the court to enforce their security interests.
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Why would Congressmen worry about paying other people's debt?
Only if it is student loans.....
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It wouldn't be Congressmen's money paying off the student loans; it would be mine.
Again, if everything is free for them, what do they have to worry about?
It's easy to be generous with other people's money.
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@catfish1957
The good news is that is only 12 dollars in pre-Biden money.
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Total_US_household_debt_and_its_composition_over_time.png)
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Total_US_household_debt_and_its_composition_over_time.png)
Interesting graph; thanks!