Peter's Blog

“Resilient” American consumers are digging into their retirement funds to pay their bills. Mainstream financial pundits, politicians, and Fed officials keep telling us the economy is strong because Americans keep spending money. They just assume this is a sign of economic strength without ever asking exactly how they’re paying for all of this “robust” spending.

Mainstream financial network pundits and government officials keep telling us that the economy is chugging along because Americans continue to spend money. But it’s clear that borrowing is the only thing sustaining this spending spree. Meanwhile, the “resilient” American consumer is drowning under a surging tidal wave of debt.

American consumers continued to pile up debt on credit cards while borrowing for big-ticket items fell into the basement in August. This is the behavior of extremely financially stressed people.

In July, the mainstream financial media breathlessly reported that consumer spending was “holding up” based on better-than-expected retail sales. But how did consumers manage to spend all of that money? They borrowed it. After a pause in June, American consumers went back to charging up their credit cards in July.

Since price inflation took off in the wake of pandemic-era stimulus, Americans have blown through their savings and run up their credit cards to make ends meet. Now they’re starting to have a hard time paying those credit card bills. The number of Americans rolling credit card debt from month to month is now higher […]

Flashing another recession warning sign, credit card spending suddenly fell off a cliff in June. American consumers have been using credit cards to make ends meet for months, but with credit card debt at record levels, rising interest rates appear to have slammed the door on spending. Credit card debt contracted in June for the […]

Despite the high interest environment intended to slow down borrowing, American consumers continue to run deeper and deeper into debt as they cope with sticky inflation. Consumer credit spiked by another $20 billion in April, a 5.7% increase year on year, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve.

Total household debt eclipsed $17 trillion for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2023 as Americans wrestle with persistent price inflation. After charting the biggest rise in 20 years during the fourth quarter, household debt climbed again in Q1, rising by $148 billion. The 0.9% increase pushed total household debt to $17.05 […]

After pulling back slightly in February, Americans went back to borrowing on credit cards in March — despite record-high interest rates. This indicates that consumers continue to struggle to make ends meet in this deteriorating economy. It also reveals that the Fed’s monetary tightening is not cooling spending as promised.

American consumers continued to pile on debt in February, but the pace of borrowing slowed significantly, another sign the economy could be heading toward a recession. Overall, consumer debt grew by $15.3 billion in February, a 3.8% annual increase, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That compares with an upwardly revised 19.5 […]