Peter's Blog

Student Loan Debt Continues Its Upward Climb

Student loan debt continues to surge despite falling college enrollment. In Q3, student loan balances rose by $23 billion from the second quarter, according to the latest Federal Reserve data.

Household Debt Was $1.6 Trillion Higher Than ’08 Peak Before COVID-19

Total household debt was over $1.6 trillion higher than the previous peak in 2008 even before the full force of the coronavirus pandemic government shutdowns hit the economy. Household debt increased by $155 billion (1.1%) in Q1 to a total of $14.3 trillion, according to the latest data released by the New York Fed. The […]

Borrowing Our Way to Prosperity?

Americans are driving the US economy along with borrowed money. The question is how much longer can it last? Consumer debt surged once again in December as Americans charged up their credit cards for the holidays. Total consumer credit grew by $22.1 billion in December, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve. […]

Updated and Revised Report: The Student Loan Bubble – Gambling With Your Future

Have you heard? The Democrats are going to fix the student loan mess! They’ve brought up the issue in almost every  Democratic Party presidential debate. All we need is a good government program and we can easily solve this $1.64 trillion problem. Never mind that government programs caused the problem in the first place. Just […]

Consumer Debt Sets Another Record But Borrowing Pace Slowing

Consumer debt set another record in September, but the pace of borrowing appears to be slowing. This could signal trouble for an economy built on American consumers spending money they don’t have. Total consumer debt grew by $9.5 billion in September, according to the most recent data released by the Federal Reserve. That represents an […]

Are Americans Close to Maxing Out Their Credit Cards?

Consumers continued to pile on debt in August, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve. But credit card debt fell slightly, raising a troubling question: are consumers close to maxing out the plastic? Total consumer credit grew by another $17.9 billion in August. That represents an annualized increase of 5.2% and pushes […]

American Consumers Propping Up Economy With Money They Don’t Have

Consumer debt is driving American economic growth. Total outstanding consumer debt surged over $4.1 trillion in the second quarter of 2019, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve. American indebtedness grew by 4.9 over the year, and the quarterly gain from Q1 to Q2 came in at $60 billion — the biggest […]

Fun on Friday: What? A Free iPad? I Didn’t Get Squat!

I was perusing my local newspaper’s website the other day when I came across this headline – “University of Kentucky to Give iPads to All Incoming Freshman This Fall.” I have to admit, just seeing the headline kind of annoyed me. Because you know what I got when I started at UK as a freshman […]

Student Loan Bubble Just Keeps Getting Bigger

Based on the latest data, the student debt crisis in America isn’t about to end any time soon. US household debt climbed to a record $13.54 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018. Student loan debt makes up a sizeable chunk of that total. In fact, student loan debt now ranks as the second-largest consumer […]

US Household Debt Breaks Another Record

The national debt has pushed above the $22 trillion mark, but it’s not just Uncle Sam borrowing himself into oblivion. US household debt climbed to a record $13.54 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Total household debt (including mortgages) now stands $869 billion […]