So what's to blame? A culture of spending, mostly, but part of the equation also rests on the messages from the media (which is supported by advertisers, of course, and simply must pound home the "buy more" message in order to keep ad revenues flowing) and the ridiculous urgings from Washington to keep on spending, regardless of your present financial situation.
But there will be consequences. At both the personal and federal level, we are in serious need of debt counseling and restructuring. The entire nation, it seems, needs an education on the downside of out of control spending, and we need to start sending messages that saving money is OK, too.
Spending may be good for the economy in the near term, but a burden of debt crushes economic growth in the long term. Too bad we have few national leaders who can see past the next election.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The weak U.S. job market helped nudge credit
card delinquencies to a record high in the third quarter of 2003, a
banking trade association said in a report released on Tuesday.
The U.S. economy has shed 2 million jobs since the start of 2001 and
businesses have not yet begun to hire many workers even though
conditions have improved and profits picked up.
"The strong third quarter GDP may signal a shift of the winds and a
more positive outlook for jobs and financial health," he said.
Delinquency rates for direct auto loans and home equity loans also
rose, the ABA said.