Thursday, January 27, 2011

Americans ridding themselves of debt

After a splurge of consumption and debt that accompanied the housing bubble over the past decade, Americans are finally weening themselves off household debt.

This graph shows household debt service payments as a percentage of disposable income:


This graph shows household financial obligations as a percentage of disposable income:


And here is a likely cause of the decline of household debt. The personal savings rate has doubled since the financial crisis began, although it's still half of what it was in 1980.


Luckily, the decline in household debt isn't simply being offset by a rise in the national debt. Oh. Wait. Here's the U.S. budget deficit as a percentage of GDP:

1 comment:

  1. Americans are saturated in debt and no longer have the confidence that we can continue to service our debts without interruption by loss of income. Americans are learning that we must build our own buffer of savings and not rely on a stable economy or a redistributive welfare State.

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