Americans’ Record Household Debt Is a National Problem, by Thomas Gallatin

There may be a simple reason why a majority of Americans appear unconcerned about the massive debt the federal government accumulates year after year — most folks live with significant debt themselves. With pretty consistent economic growth over the last decade — and especially the last three years — Americans have little excuse for the record amount of personal household debt they hold. But on Thursday, Americans’ average debt numbers were released and the figures should scare everyone.

“Total household debt now stands at a massive $14.15 trillion, which is $1.5 trillion above the prior record from 2008 as the financial crisis was hitting,” the Washington Examiner’s Quin Hillyer reports. “Credit card debt, at $930 billion, is likewise at an all-time high. Worse, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the proportion of credit card debt late by at least 90 days rose to 5.32%, an eight-year peak. For people aged 18-29, that rate of serious delinquency stood at a 10-year high of 9.36%. Of those with credit card debt in this age cohort, a whopping 67% of them report feeling serious stress about it.”  ….

Read more here https://patriotpost.us/articles/68618-americans-record-household-debt-is-a-national-problem-2020-02-17