We like to crack a joke about this, but the reality is just too sobering. Consumer credit-card debt in the US has hit an all time high. The poor economy, a consumption-driven culture, and predatory banks offering credit to those who can’t pay. These facts from the current Huffington Post contradict a recent article in Time Magazine celebrating an apparent decline in overall household debt. But if you read the fine pint in the Time article, you see that the gross number drop is cause by massive loan defaults across the country. As Martin Crutsinger writes in Huff Post,
Americans swiped their credit cards more often in October and borrowed more to attend school and buy cars. The increases drove U.S. consumer debt to an all-time high.
The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumers increased their borrowing by $14.2 billion in October from September. Total borrowing rose to a record $2.75 trillion. Continue reading “American maxing out their credit cards”