Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in U.S. history

Awww, c'mon, enough with sky is falling nonsense.


Credit card debt is at its highest ever just exceeding the previous peak in 2008 by about 1 billion, but you might want to take into account the roughly 15% inflation over that time period AND the roughly 10% gdp increase.

This forbes piece lays it out.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timwor...near-a-peak-its-well-below-2008/#3a372f25748e

Seems Americans are actually in less debt than they were in the past when objectively analysed.

 

Do you two talk to your distant cousins anymore ? Do you go to 7-11 ? Cumberland Farms, or the grocery store ? We are at your level too, thus we are able to post here because we are or have been doing things right. We are part of the 99% and of that 99%, u 2 and I are part of the 10% that have made it, make it 20% ??? Still, it is the 70 % plus that live week to week.
You can go on about how "they made that choice" "made bad choices" etc. Facts are facts. THey will not be getting out anytime soon, in fact, they are the ones getting ready to BUY a house now vs 2011... THey are stuck in the CYCLE... Even if they had bought in 2012, they are getting ready to UPGRADE to a bigger home now, because they can afford it "NOW"
Smart people do smart things with proper timing. Hell, I even bought a custom motorcycle bike 4 years ago because it was such a good deal. First guy paid 32K, second guy redid it and added another 25K to it. I stole it for 8K and will sell it in a year or two for 20K 5 or 6 years of fun and double my money.

I just worry for that DUMB % who will ride the coaster always getting on at the wrong place.

 

And our government officials, like the good little whores they are, have rewarded them by keeping their falied banks out of bankruptcy and giving them trillions in free cash under QE

 

Just how do banks get trillions of free cash?

 

You get to go babkrupt, they get kept out of bankruptcy and rewarded with trillion$

 

Do you not know how QE works?

 

Again, how are they rewarded with trillions?

 

I asked a question, you have the answer so tell us.

 

Uh,.........trillion$ get given to them.
I think I already told you

 

Again, what part of QE were you asleep for?

 

You have no answer, nor do you have any idea what you are talking about. Go ask your handlers if they know

 

My credit card debt is ZERO.

I only operate in the black.

 

not a problem, but you cannot get around today without credit cards and credit scores.

 

thanks to our retarded government selling out the American people for campaign donations.

 

WTF are you blabbering about?

 

Credit card debt is a choice and a component of the free market.

So why are you blaming everyone except those who dug a hole?

 

You beat me to it.

Nobody can have a credit card forced upon them against their will. If you got one and don't want it, cut it up and call the vendor to cancel. If you want debt, you have debt. If you don't want it, you don't have it. This isn't hard.

 

It's not just their fault. Wages have stagnated. Food prices have skyrocketed. Everything in this nation is too expensive, given that 1980's families are VERY close to current household income when inflation is factored in.

Averge 1980's home sales adjusted for inflation was 230ishk, today is is 360ishk, while household incomes are roughly 45k vs 56k respectively.

Everything costs too much.

 

I'm sorry but apparently it is Obama's fault.

 

Obama? The Republicans are at the helm. They got the president and their majorities covered.
Stop your wining. Take your responsabiliteit.

 

Thus why I don't use credit cards, or paid in full in cash for my car. Debit cards are much less of a liability than credit cards are. Who says no credit has to be a bad thing?

 

That fat piece of golfing lard is president now.
Has been for a while.
Maybe he should do something when the GOP controlling the government.

 

Why is that a surprise and necessarily a problem?

 

Until or unless Trump takes action to pull back power from the Federal Reserve System, he cannot make any changes. All he can do is appoint a different person to be the "Chairman" (or, in the case of Janet Yellen, a "Chairperson", or "Chairwoman", or "Chair-creature"... whatever....). It's really not a "Trump" thing, just as it really wasn't an "Obama" thing, either. Obama? He was just an obedient lap-dog for the Fed, doing exactly what they told him to do... and that only included doing what he did best -- running a fraudulent Welfare Circus! And if you want to know the truth, Bush behaved in very much the same damned way. The "Great Recession" began on his watch, and he kissed the Fed's ass just as much as Obama did later....

Ask yourself -- why are Americans drowning in credit card debt, again? Because interest rates are so stupidly LOW! Interest rates have been crushed underfoot by the Fed starting ten years ago this very month! Why? For three reasons: (1) They wanted to chase money out of savings accounts (where interest rates are a JOKE, and into the manipulated stock market (2) They wanted to make it easy for schmucks to buy tons of crap on credit, with the resultant sales boosting the value of the corporations that market all this crap. (3) They want INFLATION! Inflation is what real "growth" looks like, to them. And that also explains why the Fed fights like a mad dog against any movement that promotes price DECREASES (the much-dreaded 'deflation' ).

Oh, the horror! Imagine how awful it would be if prices actually went down! Why, people might be able to afford to buy their crap with CASH, and then they wouldn't use credit cards and pay interest. You can bet everything you own that the Federal Reserve System will never allow that to happen!

BTW, nothing wrong with credit cards -- so long as you pay off the entire balance each and every month!

 

Yes everything costs too much.

That's why I want to see some deflation.