One Nation, Under Debt.

Bay Area

Silver Belt
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the 2015 debt statistics are in:

U.S. household consumer debt profile:
•Average credit card debt: $15,863
•Average mortgage debt: $156,584
•Average student loan debt: $33,090

Meanwhile, wages for the most part, remain stagnant. Most likely meaning people are using cc debt to make ends meet. It also means tough times ahead for college grads.


But wait!! Can this be in some ways a good thing for the economy?

higher consumer spending puts the economy on a positive track. Higher spending leads to more jobs and higher incomes, which in turn lead to higher spending.

Or are we headed for an unsustainable situation.


http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/
 
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I wouldn't feel confident in voting any Dems or Reps because there plans won't sustain positive growth for 99% of the populace for around 1000 years. I guarantee if they solve the debt we will be back in debt again with there current government structure. We need to obliterate it and make a new democracy not a business minded structure disguising itself as a democracy. :icon_chee
 
Is there a reason for a person to worry about other people's personal debt?
 
Stats on debt are meaningless without some context.
 
Is there a reason for a person to worry about other people's personal debt?

Yes, it's called the economy as a whole, and it turns out unless you can pay an entire countries taxes by yourself, you should have some type of interest.
 
Here is some (context).

http://www.federalreserve.gov/econr...recent-trends-in-household-debt-20150406.html

"After falling for almost five years, household debt (measured in dollars) has risen in each of the last seven quarters, as the primary forces exerting downward pressure on household debt in previous years (mortgage charge-offs and negative net mortgage originations) have waned, while consumer credit has been expanding at a robust pace. The recent growth in household debt, however, has so far fallen a bit short of growth in disposable personal income (DPI); as a result, the debt-to-DPI ratio (one common measure of leverage) continued to edge down through the end of 2014."

So some trends to monitor but hardly sky is falling type stuff.
 
Those are frightening numbers, if I owed 15000 on my credit card I'd probably be considering Breaking Bad.
 
Those are frightening numbers, if I owed 15000 on my credit card I'd probably be considering Breaking Bad.

That seemed hard to believe at first, but then I see that it only includes households "carrying debt", and remember that it's an average rather than a median (the median is $3,300 and the average for all households is about $7,800). Personally, I use cards (for the rewards) for almost all of my spending and then just pay it all off at the end of the month. Not sure how I'd figure into the averages.
 
Yes, it's called the economy as a whole, and it turns out unless you can pay an entire countries taxes by yourself, you should have some type of interest.

Having debt means people aren't earning income (to generate tax revenue)?

Yes. Dont know if you heard, but back in 08 it became this whole big thing.

Personal debt caused the GFC? I did not know that.
 
That seemed hard to believe at first, but then I see that it only includes households "carrying debt", and remember that it's an average rather than a median (the median is $3,300 and the average for all households is about $7,800). Personally, I use cards (for the rewards) for almost all of my spending and then just pay it all off at the end of the month. Not sure how I'd figure into the averages.

That seems to be the healthy way to go about it, I've had my card up into the low 4 digits during school, but I haven't let it break 1000 since, I am acutely aware that much smarter minds than mine have been paid a bunch of money to refine credit cards into as sleek a revenue stream as possible. That number did sound a little insane, that amount would cause serious problems, especially because no one gets to 5-digit credit card debt because they were well off in the first place. The line between banks and payday loan companies gets a tad blurry at times.

I know personal responsibility is important, but the world is very good at inviting and compelling individuals to take on debt, and it's easier than ever to be underwater.
 
what comes after trillion
 
do you know what a mortgage is?

Yeah. I've got one.

If you can give a synopsis of how that debt unwound the global financial system I'm sure plenty of us would love to read it. If you can fully explain it without hitting on the evolution of global finance and a lack of reach for regulation that'd be preferred. Investments lose money all the time. What made these so crucial that losses couldn't be taken?
 
Stats on debt are meaningless without some context.

Yeah, context is important. My brother has similar debt to what bay area posted but he makes 250k/year so it means fuck all. I on the other hand have no debt at all and have a similar standard of living to him on under 40k a year.

So context.
 
That seemed hard to believe at first, but then I see that it only includes households "carrying debt", and remember that it's an average rather than a median (the median is $3,300 and the average for all households is about $7,800). Personally, I use cards (for the rewards) for almost all of my spending and then just pay it all off at the end of the month. Not sure how I'd figure into the averages.

At one point a large bank VP lived across the street from me. He was responsible for credit card services -- specifically one of those secondary cards - like the ones you get offers for in the mail. I don't recall the exact number(s) but the average carrying debt was something $10,000 -- but that was the least shocking stat. Something like 90% were maxxed out and 80% of the holders only made the minimum payment.
 
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