Arguments from evidence
Kevin Drum pushes back on the WSJ claim that household debt is a problem in America, and Kevin brings the receipts:
“. . . debt as a percent of disposable income . . . is currently lower than it was at the end of 2019 (9.8% vs. 10%).
“. . . household debt as a percent of GDP . . . went up during the pandemic and then back down. It is currently lower than it was at the end of 2019 (76.2% vs. 77.7%).
“Total credit card balances today are precisely the same as in the final quarter of 2019.”
US families have no serious debt problems
“. . . debt as a percent of disposable income . . . is currently lower than it was at the end of 2019 (9.8% vs. 10%).
“. . . household debt as a percent of GDP . . . went up during the pandemic and then back down. It is currently lower than it was at the end of 2019 (76.2% vs. 77.7%).
“Total credit card balances today are precisely the same as in the final quarter of 2019.”
US families have no serious debt problems
i don’t see how change in percent of disposable income year over year says anything about whether US families have a serious debt problem. if they had a debt problem last year and there has been no change as a percent of dispoasable income, they still have a debt problem.
up to a point i am okay with national debt. personal debt is a problem. i don’t believe that interest is a negligible part of debt.