Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

60secondstatistics.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 208 posts

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#11

Post by gillianlish »

holydude wrote: post #5
jdavis703 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why OP was being downvoted. I just bought a new truck, financed mostly with an auto loan. I couldn't remember or provide half the information required for the loan application and was told "don't worry about that." I still got approved. Another story, I recently changed rental apartments. My "credit report" was a page I printed out from a consumer credit reporting site, where I could've changed any data. My…

Cheap money is vital to the economy. I know that the market is different in the EU but look at what is happening in Germany and Greece. You would not want that.

massive endemic fraud is not vital to the economy... although it is vital to destroying an economy.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#12

Post by stuart78 »

jdavis703 wrote: post #3
omilu wrote: post #2

Combine low wages, increasing loan delinquency, and the probable start of trade wars with mexico and china and I can't see how this doesn't turn out to be like 2008 on steroids.

Not sure why OP was being downvoted. I just bought a new truck, financed mostly with an auto loan. I couldn't remember or provide half the information required for the loan application and was told "don't worry about that." I still got approved. Another story, I recently changed rental apartments. My "credit report" was a page I printed out from a consumer credit reporting site, where I could've changed any data. My…

Same experience for me on a recent car purchase. Dealer didn't particularly want a down payment, which made me suspect that they are being comped on loan volume when financed through manufacturer, a choice I opted for because the % was 2 points lower than my bank.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#15

Post by idiot_stick »

hack_edu wrote: post #6
DenisM wrote: post #4

One man's debt is another man's financial asset.

With this attitude, you might as well just give all your money to the bankers now and just be done with it.

>With this attitude, you might as well just give all your money to the bankers now and just be done with it.

With what attitude? Having knowledge of accounting, and that the balance sheet has two sides?

If anything, ignorance of finance is how you give your money to the bankers.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#16

Post by idiot_stick »

to3m wrote: post #7

Secured on wasting assets, the promise of future earnings, or nothing at all. What could possibly go wrong? (On the bright side this is far from the majority of debt.)

>What could possibly go wrong?

Americans are the wealthiest people in the history of mankind. Fortunes ebb and flow, but there isn't much to worry about.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#17

Post by slg »

The most dangerous problem with the housing crisis in 2008 was not the amount of debt. It was the feedback loop that was created by defaulting on that debt. Foreclosed homes naturally have a lower value than non-foreclosed homes. Homes are priced by looking at recent comparable home sales. If your neighbors to both your right and left have had their houses foreclosed on, the value of your home will go down. If the value of your home goes down too much, it becomes nearly impossible to refinance your mortgage (which was important due to all the crazy adjustable rate mortgages that were handed out in the preceding years). This leads to more and more foreclosures and worse and worse home values.

That feedback loop does not exist with unsecured debt. If your neighbors to both your right and left can't pay their student loan, the value of your education will not go down.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#18

Post by purple-again »

purple-again wrote: post #14

Americans Hold Over $4.1 Trillion in Consumer Debt and Roughly $90.0 Trillion in Asset Wealth doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Let's also keep in mind the population is still growing so just like the game of "Highest grossing movie of all time!" title you see every year, it's not surprising at all that total debt numbers are increasing. We need debt per capita to be alarmed.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#19

Post by idiot_stick »

gillianlish wrote: post #9
omilu wrote: post #2

Combine low wages, increasing loan delinquency, and the probable start of trade wars with mexico and china and I can't see how this doesn't turn out to be like 2008 on steroids.

also "subprime financial products bundled together and resold as low-risk investments to massive institutions" combined with "moral hazard" of said institutions knowing they will be bailed out again by the taxpayers when the speculative bubble bursts. also Student Debt cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy so you essentially have an entire generation of indentured servants who will never actually own property outright.

>also Student Debt cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy so you essentially have an entire generation of indentured servants who will never actually own property outright.

This is an issue, but can vanish with the stroke of a pen.

Re: Americans Hold Over $4.1T in Consumer Debt

#20

Post by mortehu »

For lots more data and charts, see New York Fed's quarterly report on household debt and credit:

https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/househo...

Page 13 shows newly delinquent balances by loan type, and the trend doesn't seem too worrying. Page 11's "total balance by delinquency status" also seems to be heading in a good direction.

Post reply on HN