Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007

American middle-class drowning in debt

The Telegraph: Spending spree over as Americans walk without safety net

Americans are drawing down their personal savings at the fastest rate since the depths of the Great Depression, suggesting that US household finances may be more fragile than they look.

Posted by sold 2 rent 1 @ 12:53 AM (147 views) Add Comment

11 Comments

1. bidin'matime said...

Bloody Hell! And it's coming our way!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 08:25AM Report Comment
 

2. tyrellcorporation said...

Sobering! Some big stats in this article. I read yesterday that the UK is in debt to the tune of 167% of GDP compared to the US which is at 111% and Poland at just 27%.

We really are in a mess...

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 08:51AM Report Comment
 

3. denzil said...

Those who have cut their financial cloth accordingly will be just fine.
Anyway we live in a miracle economy so we have nothing to worry about at all.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 09:50AM Report Comment
 

4. Chilli said...

yeah. But when they came out with that figure, there were counting pensions. Which is a liability, but not as a result of careless spending.

At any rate, this situation has been heating up for a while.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 09:51AM Report Comment
 

5. dohousescrashinthewoods said...

The UK must be in recession. We must be in a shocking state. Can any of us "demesmerise" for long enough to smell the coffee?

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 10:13AM Report Comment
 

6. Syd said...

So I don't understand? have we done away with the boom bust aspect to the property 'market'? Everybody seems to think that we have.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 10:17AM Report Comment
 

7. harold said...

All it will take is for stocks to go into reverse for the great illusion to be finally over and for the whole lot to come crashing down. Sooner or later...

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 10:50AM Report Comment
 

8. sold 2 rent 1 said...

Syd,

Boom and bust is alive and well.

We are just in the final year of the boom (when everyone says "it's different this time")

Expect and prepare for the bust to start in late 2007 / early 2008 and last for 3 years

Also expect the next 15 years to be not as good as the last 15 years

There are both short and long term aspects of such asset bubbles and debt creation
short term - recession
long term - the households that don't get reposessed or go bankrupt will have much lower disposable income for a long time to come

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 12:35PM Report Comment
 

9. Andy said...

The UK has pegged some of it's currency to Gold.
In the US after 1971 it was pegged to Bulls***.

Trouble is we are exposed to some of that.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 12:46PM Report Comment
 

10. harold said...

Sterling pegged to gold??!! Come again?

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 04:46PM Report Comment
 

11. Wilee said...

"A random audit in Virginia found that 60pc of borrowers had exaggerated their actual income by more than half when applying for a mortgage..."

Always thought self-certification / lax lending checks were more of a British phenomenon. Guess not.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 09:25PM Report Comment
 

Add comment

Username   Admin Password (optional)
Email Address
Comments
  • If you do not have an admin password leave the password field blank.
  • If you would like to request a password allowing you to add comments and blog news articles without needing each one approved manually, send an e-mail to the webmaster.
  • Your email address is required so we can verify that the comment is genuine. It will not be posted anywhere on the site, will be stored confidentially by us and never given out to any third party.
  • Please note that any viewpoints published here as comments are user's views and not the views of HousePriceCrash.co.uk.
  • Please adhere to the Guidelines

Main Blog | Archive | Add Article | Blog Policies