Replies to post #253469 on Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[mainehiker]

ALL GOOD POINTS

[Joe Stocks]

You are assuming the increase in use is for convenience only. Here is an exceprt:
>American consumers owed a grand total of $1.9773 trillion in October 2003, according to the latest statistics on consumer credit from the Federal Reserve. That’s about $18,654 per household, a figure that doesn’t include mortgage debt. The number is up more than 41% from the $1.3999 trillion consumers owed in 1998<<

>>About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.

Average households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt.

Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade.<<

>The majority of consumer borrowing, about 63%, is represented by so-called "non-revolving" debt such as automobile loans. But "revolving" credit, which most typically involves credit cards, is an increasingly significant part of the equation. Revolving debt currently totals $735.3 billion; that's about 31% higher than it was only five years ago. The figure has more than doubled in a decade.<<

>>Just one word: plastics
The average amount of credit card debt in households with more than one card is now more than $8,000, according to CardWeb.com. That’s 167% more than the $3,000 average for households in 1990.
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http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P70581.asp