Stressed Americans Cope via Credit Cards

Biden's burden crushes budgets...and spirits. Here are solutions...

This new Cortes “Chalk Talk” describes the recent terrible data revealing the plight of Americans grappling to financially cope with out of control price increases for the staples of life:

Steve Cortes @CortesSteve

Americans cope with runaway prices through dangerous Credit Card debt. This Biden burden crushes budgets…and spirits. See the numbers in a Sunday edition of the Cortes #ChalkTalk

As noted in the video, the new dire numbers emerged in the latest Household Pulse Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, released last week. Back in April, an already-troubling 21% of Americans were using credit card debt to finance purchases of the basics of life. In the ensuing months, that percentage increased by an astounding 66%, to the present crisis. Over 1/3 of Americans use high interest credit card debt to finance the necessities of life.

Even in a lower interest rate era, the recent explosion in credit card debt would set off alarms. After all, the Federal Reserve recently reported that total credit card debt jumped at the highest pace in two decades. But this recent surge is even more alarming than others, because this era of vaulting inflation pushes interest rates to record highs. Specifically, according to BankRate, the average interest rate on credit card balances just rose above 19%, to 19.14%...the highest level since 1985.

The average American owes $5,000 in credit card debt. Given this spike in interest rates, a strapped consumer who makes only the minimum payment each month will take over a decade and a half – 191 months – to get the balance down to zero. The total interest cost for such a borrower will be a staggering $6,546 over time.

Of course, this analysis only describes the dangerous situation with revolving consumer debt. Other key forms of debt become more expensive every single month given the current  toxic combination of high interest rates and a receding economy. From mortgages to car loans, the world of credit now presses incredible economic anxiety upon Americans. No wonder Consumer Confidence hit a post-WWII low last year in 2022.

So what can be done to reverse these awful trends? In an era of crashing real wages, meaning incomes adjusted for inflation’s bite, how can our movement restore sanity to economic policy and provide relief to financially cornered citizens?

First, let’s recognize which people and institutions will not be helpful. The Senate side of Capitol Hill remains a disaster, even with the prior even party split in the upper chamber. Eunuch Republicans like Mitch McConnell and supposed “conservative” Tom Cotton willingly collaborated with Joe Biden to pass the $1.7 trillion unfunded Omnibus spending monstrosity. They either do not understand the roots of inflation, or they do not care (or some combination of the two).

But alas, as Jesse Jackson used to say, let’s “keep hope alive.”

How and where? In the US House of Representatives.