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Subscribe to RSSIt’s no secret that many Americans have long relied on credit cards and other forms of debt to get what we want, or what we need.
But a new survey finds that even in the wake of the Great Recession, we may not be totally honest with ourselves about whether we are living beyond our means.
The survey of about 3,000 Americans finds that about half of the respondents spend more than they earn at least a few months out of the year.
Yet only about 1 in 10 respondents said their current lifestyle is more than they can afford. The vast majority said their lifestyle is about what they can afford.
The survey was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on behalf of Country Financial as part of the company’s monthly measure of financial security.
Of the people who spend more than they earn at least some of the time, about 36 percent said the primary response is to dip into savings to meet their financial obligations. About 22 percent said they use credit cards to cover the gap, while 12 percent delayed paying the bills.
The good news is that half the people surveyed – 46 percent – rarely or never spend more than they earn in a given month.
The difficult economy has had a devastating impact on many Americans' finances, and that has forced some to rely more on credit cards and other forms of borrowing because they don’t have the money to meet monthly expenses.
For many the recession and recovery served as a wake-up call to pare back on credit card debt and get their finances under control.
Recently, however, there have been signs that people are feeling more comfortable again about taking on debt. The Federal Reserve said last week that Americans increased borrowing in March for things like cars and education, and also used their credit cards more.
Americans also may be living beyond their means because they have less money than they used to. The nation’s median household income has fallen by about 7 percent from its peak in 1999 after adjusting for inflation.
Related:
One in four Americans has more debt than savings
Financial experts Jean Chatzky, David Bach, and Sharon Epperson tackle viewers' financial dilemmas, including how to afford insurance and open a retirement account, and whether to take early Social Security benefits when you're unemployed.
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When we default the games will really begin.
we will not "default".... we will inflate our way out of debt...get ready to pay 25% of your income for health care insurance/expenses
The people who complain the most about Health Care are the same ones who won't tell you where they work - because they know they have had it far too good, far too long. They are also the ones with matched 401K's and Deferred Comp plans at work, while others making half as much have been paying 25% of their income for Health Care for decades.
Just check the driveway, the garage, and the backyard pool - we know who the ones are that really benefit from the system. Also look for the recent give aways laying around the front yard, like batting helmets from the local baseball game that they spend $200 on last night, and the kids have so many other toys that the free helmet doesn't even make it into the house.
Median Income - HAAAA! I wish my wife and I made half of what they say is Median. Some of you are way over paid for what you do, no wonder you think CEO's are worth millions.
There is no such thing as "overpaid". A person gets paid exactly according to the forces at work in their situation. Cheap boss, generous boss, high profits, non-profits, ask for raises, feels bad to ask for raises, overhead, etc.
Here is the real question. Are people buying more stuff? The economy does not appear to suggest that.
Increased spending - because - prices are increasing - is not exactly irresponsible. People want to maintain the lifestyle they have - and - it simply costs more to stay in place.
What is encouraging is that people are less willing to use debt to pay for that profit inflation. People are beginning to choose to lower their lifestyle instead of creating more debt.
Unfortunately, things like health care, education, and transportation are too important to give up. The speculators will be focusing their attention there - so prices will inflate faster in hopes of making a speculative profit.
Deflation may likely be caused by default - but - it will be private sector default. Especially as the boomers retire in greater numbers. The government is only the problem because it is being used to subsidize the wrong parts of the economy.
Based on the survey, either most are in denial or it's single men that responded the most lol.
Chilly; so the guy making $80K a year and spends half his day posting at news sites or reading the sports on the Internet, isn't over paid? I hope you are just as rational when your job goes over seas or folds because we can't afford your product any more.
I wonder how that little girl in China, making Nike's for 12 hours a day at 10 cents an hour feels about your analogy? Why send her to school when daddy can sell her into slavery.
The fact that 40% of the country has less than 3 months of money in savings in case there is a disruption in their income and like 80% have less than 6 months goes to show you that based on the survey, this country is poisoned by millions of people who are in so much denial that it will be impossible to save the nation.
I've been preaching the average American's denial about what things cost (healthcare, entitlements, etc.) and their lack of 'preparing for the worst,' for over a decade.
In 2005, I told everyone I knew that I wasn't going to buy a house until after the crash. I didn't know when exactly the crash was going to happen, but it was as obvious as a neon sign.
Now I don't know everything. I'm not bilingual, can't play a musical instrument, can change a tire, but that's about it when it comes to cars... etc. etc.
There is so much about this world that I don't know. But I've dedicated the majority of my life's time to following historic trends, understanding economics, business and human behavior in an effort to understand how the world works.
It would be nice to see some of you progressives / liberals paying a little more attention to these things so that when the fecal matter hits the bladed rotary device, you too will be prepared and be in a better position to be part of the solution instead of the problem.
drainbramage: Apparently Mr. 80k Websurfer is not overpaid if he keeps generating whatever his employer needs to charge someone else 100k. His employer probably needs better measurements of his productivity.
I just didn't agree with your implication that there is something bad about the person that is "overpaid". It is not an analogy, it is reality. I agree with you that I wouldn't want to be that guy who doesn't really do anything and just skates. He will probably be found out eventually. But there is a lot of gray area in between. There are probably guys who can create 200k of value for a company in 20 hours a week, good for them.
Actually, I don't like the Healthcare Reform and I work at an office full time with a part time minimum wage job. My wife got lucky and just got a minimum wage job to help out. I think our yearly earnings is around 34K. Oh, and my driveway has a 1995 Chrysler LHS and a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am (neither have payments). It also has crumbling cement that needs replacing. There is no pool in the back yard. My garage is used for storage of my lawn mowers (I have a gas push mower and an old school mower for when the first breaks down), a snow shovel, a rake, and a tool box full of extra tools my grandfather has accumulated over the years. My front yard has an ugly pine tree in it and probably the weekly paper in it by now. Maybe even the mailbox is down again as I have stopped completely securring it to the post because of the kids down the road knocking it off.
And as far as saving for retirement with the company matching... I've decided to pay off my student loans early because why save money at 8% when I'm getting charged 16%? I guess when I was brought up to know how to live within your means, I took it to heart unlike a lot of Americans. I do understand that sometimes it isn't possible but with the right planning, you can always get to that point. I have been keeping a budget on my funds since I was 16, and will probably teach my kids to do the same.
This is the time to emigrate...
.....and always remember the initial Communistic government will ALWAYS trap people off guard, with 21st century technology.
So why not continue calling it a democracy while we move toward installing communism.... The people won't know the difference. The gov't's objective is to dumb down everyone and open the flood gates for international people to seek asylum here to boost higher voter percentages for Democrats ---then they will shut the gates and let no one leave that quick and say, "welcome to our new communistic government". --Do yourself a favor and emigrate.
Yeah, we should all save money so then we'll be prepared to give it away to the unfortunates who couldn't save.
? What does that mean Were a family of 4 and were saving 3-4K a month debt free.
Twenty-one: If you can convince most Americans that they live in a "Democracy" (and you can) you're already half way to communism. Anyone who doesn't know our nominal form of government is a Republic is really too stupid to participate anyway.
Too bad we can't make them pass a test before they vote anymore... I believe that would actually help take out the crappy politicians. And this time, you aren't grandfathered into voting.
The bigger, less visible, more dangerous disaster is that people are trying to sustain their unsustainable spending habits at the expense of retirement planning, saving for college and other investments that ensure their long-term financial stability. The sad part is that it's a choice, and many choose not to do anything about it.
So true...the lower 50% on the economic ladder will be living in poverty in Retirement years....we will have a much changed social system in 15-20 years time. But the top 20% are gonna be living very very well.
Yea, it's a choice to use credit to eat or get gas to go to work because I have already taken in all the recyclables and cashed in all my change just to get by and still can't make it. Get out of your bubble, not everybody has a choice in this economy.
People have ten times as much as their parents had and a hundred times more than their grandparents - going back to a time when you took responsibility and allowed your parents to move in with you when they are old - WAS THE NORM, This new norm has only existed a very short time in history. I could fit 4 of my grandparents homes inside of one of some of your homes.
What was it George Carlin said; something like the American Dream is fine as long as you are asleep.
I know of several women who own more than $40K on credit cards that their husbands/boy friends don't even know about... nothing like being under water and not knowing it. Guys are no better - they just do it right out in the open - I'm gunna buy a Harley whether you like it or not. Gotta love it when couples compete for the funds they don't have.
I dumped my out-of-work fiance the day I came home from a 14-hour day of work and night classes to find that instead of looking for a job, he spent the day buying a $500 t.v. that we didn't need. I realized then why my gut had told me not to co-sign anything with him, including our lease, and it had nothing to do with fear of commitment - it was fear of being saddled with years of debt that wasn't mine. And it would only be worse if I "co-signed" a marriage license.
@Rodericalan -- The bottom 50 pct will be just fine. They have little now - and - they will have little after the crash. Not much will change.
The top 20 pct have the most to lose - and - they are going to lose some of it.
One in five workers will be eligible for retirement in 10 years. One in two workers will be eligible in 20 years. We have people nearing retirement with large debt burdens. A lot of that debt is simply going to default - die with the boomers.
Speculative inflation paid for with debt cannot continue much longer. The boomers cannot continue to support it - the boomers will not live forever. Most of the 20 pct receive their income from speculative inflation - even if they are working for a paycheck.
nomasauer, sorry you have to borrow for your food, but go back through your life, I'm sure there is something in your history that you should've changed to make your today better. That isn't anyone's fault but yours. Or you could get rid of wasteful spending and pick up a second (or third) job. Maybe you don't want to though because then you couldn't be on your internet telling everyone how bad you have it. And before you complain about being overworked, through college, I worked 40 hours a week while taking 16 credit hours and now I work about 70-80 hours a week between 2 jobs. So is it that you can't afford the lifestyle or that you choose to now want to find a way to be able to afford your lifestyle?
Nice how this article looks at how average Americans are spending but never the millionaires right? Main Street Americans are savaged year after year by ever increasing state sales taxes and property. Then comes the second round...utilities..if you don't go bankrupt with the constant predatory prices of your utilities, you will with any insurances you are forced to carry like auto, healthcare or homeowners.
I defy anyone to tell any single Mom who learned to live on 1 income just under $40,000 a year she can save a dime with two mouths to feed, clothes and keep a roof over their heads.
Single American Moms are what Bush called, "uniquely American". Funny how most of us find a full-time job and 2 or more part-time jobs, isn't it?
I'm so sick and tired of hearing from people who can't live on $100,000 a year. Boo hoo. You will when you have to. You'll learn to bake your own bread, cook all your own meals at home and grow your own backyard gardens if you want to keep your kids in food. And those Dolce & Gabbanas and Manolo Blahniks will be a faded memory as you shop at second hand stores for your kids clothes and your own.
Most millionaires have an income of 75-250K and are very frugal You would never know them. most have never spent more than 30K for a vehicle and most drive an F-150. Most never inherited more than 10K. You should do some research of what most millionaires are.
It is not us the consumer who put us in this mess. True we did help a little bit .
The really big spenders were CONGRESS ( waste, fraud, & corruption ). We were also helped by the Greedy Banksters and their Snake Oil salesmen . Not to mention the top 1%ers who do not pay their fair share of taxes, along with hiding money off shore. OH YES the Military / Industrial complex . Over charge the government for everything it buys from them , along with shipping our jobs overseas !!!
Yes we the little people sure brought this on ourselves.
bob
Yeah, but the reality is that many people don't exercise PERSONAL control when they can. The US will go bankrupt for some of the reasons that you cite, but that's a separate issue from personal financial management, and using gov't overspending as an excuse for personal overspending is just rationalizing the problem instead of solving the part that we can. We can all choose to spend less and save more. But most don't.
Many people??? From the poll, it's only 28.8%.
Hit Girl
I agree but only to a point.
Government spends and wastes more money per second than the population does in a week. Fraud , waste , mismanagement and corruption at the federal level makes us look like kindergartners . The bank have been running PONZI schemes on us for years. ARM mortgages , 401 K's and so it goes .
Those of us who over spend , have NO Self Discipline . But their numbers are very small and in a healthy economy , their over spending can be compensated for .
bob
Government overspends because we, the voters, elect politicians based on how much they promise to give us for "free". If we want government to change, then we need to start voting for people that run as fiscal conservatives. If they don't live up to their promises, then vote them out and go with the next politician that says they will be fiscally conservative. After a few election cycles they will get the message and clean up a lot of the waste in DC.
Until the voters realize they are the real problem, I don't think anything is going to change in Washington.
Govt spending is atrocious, but that's not our personal spending. Everyone needs to live withing their means. Govt wastes our money, but we're the ones buying houses or cars we can't afford, having lavish weddings or vacations, and generally racking up credit card debt for things we can do without.
Whatever you earn is what you can spend. If that means you have to live in a tiny, one-room apartment in the crappy part of town and drive a 10-yr-old car, that's what you get. It sucks, but it's reality. Pretending otherwise won't help for long.
As for govt spending, that's a whole other issue. Vote for those who promise to rein in our spending on things you object to (like wars or giving benefits to illegals, for example) and vote them out if they don't.
@ Ron:Load of crap! Many of our so called "conservatives" are the worst spenders in congress. The money spent on Defense every year is ridiculous. War profiteers are the downfall of our society. They have a stranglehold on our gov't. It doesn't matter who we elect, the military will get their $$$ one way or another. How many billions of dollars disappeared in Iraq? How about the Pentagon Saying they don't know where 13 Billion dollars went? But for 6 billion they can find out. And this was money borrowed from the Fed that was created out of thin air.
Stone Mason,
What are you objecting to in my post? All I said was, vote for fiscal conservatives - and if they turn out to not be fiscally conservative when they get in office, vote them out and try again until we do get true fiscal conservatives.
Since you brought it up, I am a fiscal conservative, and I would like to see the defense budget reduced by at least 50% over the next 10 years. I'd like to do it faster, but to meet this goal I think we need to significantly reduce our overseas deployments - and to do that several international treaties will need to be renegotiated for this to happen.
The County, the State and the Feds overspend because: while the entreprenuers and workers are at work paying the bills for everyone, the people who want something are in chambers or on the golf course with the polytissiuns telling them things that justify expanding the welfare networks. Corporate AND social welfare. The poly-tissiuns do not hear the other side of the story. So they figured out a long time ago that when republicans are in power they benefit by giving things to corporations and when the Dems are in they benefit by promising new social welfare. The poor bill payer-voters keep rotating back and forth from dems to repubs back to dems again trying to find a bunch that won't pick their pocket to give it to someone else. IT's not working. The accumulated weight of 50 years of increasing corporate and social welfare has broken our financial back. But the polytissiuns who says YES today to yet another bad deal for us never gets any consequences hurting him. So they keep doing it.
Ron: You obviously pisssed off StoneMason with the use of the word "conservative"! It didn't matter what context the word was used in, it was there for any shoot-from-the-hip liberal to see and pick on! And he also has no idea how the military works 'money borrowed from the Fed for the military???' Who knows what that rant's all about!
AG 99
You have a valid point there .
While I was growing up and got married . The Rule of Thumb was you can only spend one weeks pay check on a mortgage . The other three weeks went for insurance , food , car payments , utilities and so on . Also over time money went into the bank for emergencies only . Washer & dryer broke or CAR REPAIRS ( that one always got my money ). People today always try to keep up with the Jones es . People are stupid and we can not do anything about it .
Truth be told : our government is still pissing away more money than the rest of the population combined. Libraries for them selves, air ports for one , bridges to know where , three stupid waste full wars and the list goes on and on. Also the house post office fraud a number of years ago . Sorry to say, but congress is the biggest thief of all . Our vote means nothing any more. Because all were bought and paid for before they ran for office .
bob
Government waste! Government is waste, albeit, necessary in very limited limited applications. It's not complicated, the less government does, the less it wastes.
The constitution carefully spelled out governmental responsibilities and its limitations. It also included a system for being updated to suit the times.
Enter conservatives and liberals. Conservatives think that it should be interpreted literally, liberals think that it should be interpreted to suit what ever they want it to mean.
Considering what I see of the poll above, the few are making those who watch what they spend pay for them also heh heh. 28.8% of the people they are. However, that's really not much unless they owe into the billions which is the most likely answer LOL. Maybe in conjunction with the social program, (welfare, food stamps, medicaid and gas cards), that expense would add up considerably heh heh.
Here's the gist of the problem: we spending too much based on borrowing, not from liquid assets already owned.
Here's the reason why: our income tax laws encourages it to be this way. When bank account interest, capital gains and stock dividend payments all count towards earned income for income tax computation, no wonder why we've had a proliferation of offshore financial centers where American residents and businesses can put their liquid assets out of the reach of the IRS (care to explain all those "banks" in various Caribbean island nations?). And the amount sent out of the country for tax avoidance reasons is frightening: by some economic estimates, it may be approaching US$15 TRILLION--almost enough to erase the current Federal budget deficit! :-O
It's time for a DRASTIC overhaul of income taxation in the USA to encourage way more savings and capital investment staying in the country, not to mention ending the very corrupt merry-go-round that is income tax lobbying going on in Washington, DC. In 1996, Steve Forbes proposed a simple, no-loophole 17% flat-rate income tax with a very generous initial earned income (wages and pensions) exemption per household and ends the alternate minimum tax, estate tax, gift tax, maybe the FICA tax, marriage penalty tax, self-employment tax, and taxes on bank account interest, capital gains and stock dividend payments. If we had such a tax system in place right now, we would gain back hundreds of billions of dollars now spent on tax compliance, our banks will be fully-funded, and our stock market would hit the roof because it would be tax-advantageous to invest in the US stock market. And people can save up for retirement and/or medical bills completely tax-free with private bank accounts, reducing the pressure on Social Security and Medicare.
So what are we waiting for?
Mitt Romney thinks it is a good idea to keep money in the Caymans and Switzerland. He is a successful American businessman.
Given the current American economy, 2/3 based on domestic buying, encouraging savings and investment will hurt the economy, something no one in Congress wants, so I see a long uphill battle for your ideas.
No Ray. You are wrong. Foreign cap gains, dividends and interest are taxed same as in country.
Jello heads!
so what? You can't take it with you. THis is all fear mongering anyway for the investment people to grab your money in fees and losses. Just as long as you have some sort of small income when you get older thats fine. If I have to live in a trailer when I am 70 ..so what? I probably am not going to be mobile anyway based on the people I have seen that age. I don't condone going hog wild but on the other hand you should nt live like a dog and have some idiot steal it from you. Who are you going to try to impress when your 80'...your done! You time has passed.
Take two aspirin, drink plenty of liquids and get lots of rest. You should be just fine in the morning heh heh.
So what? I'll tell you what and I can hardly balance my checkbook.
When the dollar collapses because it is worthless when China quits lending us money, because of excessive printing by the Fed, because we owe more money than we will ever be able to pay back (16 trillion$) , you will be lucky to have a job at Subway. There will be no Social Security, no pensions, few jobs, to give you that "little income" so you can live in the "mobile home" in a few years. We are all going to be scrounging for food, shelter, clothing.....just like Argentina did in 2000-2002. Go and research what happen to them when their economy crashed to see what could happen here.
I talked to a friend who's a VP at a local Credit Union. She says they are bracing for the failure of Bank of America any day now and how that will affect them. She also said they have spent major money on beefing up security in case of bank runs.
That's what......
Clearly you hate the elderly, jollyjoker. Good luck when you get there.
double post--deleted
Laurie Allen: "VP at a local Credit Union. She says they are bracing for the failure of Bank of America any day now" You're full of $hit!!! They are "bracing" for the failure of a bank??? They have "beefed up security"???? My God, Laurie, WTH have you been smoking???
Hahaha jolly, I am 73. You may surprise yourself and be spryer than you imagine. Wow, wouldn't that suck?
clearly I do hate the elderly? You damn right boomer pigs. You stole all the benefits from Social security and are gonna leave the bill to the next generation. I can see that happy dance 50 million miles away. As far as being spry at 70...really. Spry to do what? Enjoy your kids...not! Fix a house up with hard labor! NOT... Go sit at your cafe and drink coffee..And maybe go look out at the lake once in awhile. OOOOH the excitement.
So what???? We all pay when people act like irresponsible children with their finances, that's what...
These spoiled brats want everything yesterday. They don't want to work or save for anything... Instant gratification is the order of the day for a lot of people.
People need to act like adults and grow up.
You do know Mcdonald's is still selling Happy Meals, don't you heh heh
Chippherroo, uaranidiot. Yesterday you were flogging the OBummer libturds to tax and spend. Turning saftey nets into hammocks for your kind.
Jello heads!
@Jolly, I agree 100%. My retirement plan is to move back to my wife's home country (not US ), as the amount of money We would need to retire here ( 30 tears from now) is virtually impossible to achieve, even if we saved/invested, etc. 100% of both our incomes, and I have a good Engineering job! That tells me a lot about the current heading of this country. In fact, our exit plans may be earlier than retirement if things keep getting worse.
no kidding. ! I plan on doing it simple. If folks want to chase money down like no tomorrow.... go for them. I will check out on the whole deal. If the state wants to supply me freebies or suppliment me if I can't do it anymore.. fine. if not, put me in a wheel chair and push me into the lake.
These questions were not very good.
For example, for most people every time they buy an appliance (washing machine, refrigerator, etc) they likely spend more in a single month than they earned that month. Same goes for a computer, possibly a smart phone, a TV, a couch, etc. Any big ticket item.
But if they budgeted $200 a month for three months before that to buy it out right, they still get dinged as spending beyond their means in this survey. Once for spending more than they make in a month, and again for dipping into savings.
I really hope this survey had more words to it than was presented in this article, for example defining savings as retirement savings, emergency fund savings, etc instead of just general savings.
At least, that's how I do things and I never, ever, carry a balance on credit cards and I maintain at a minimum 3 months pay in savings for emergencies (unless, of course, an emergency ever does happen). So even though I would be flagged in this survey, I wouldn't say I'm living beyond my means.
This was my first thought too Capn! If I save for a couch for 6 months, does it count as spending more than I make for the month I buy it? If so, then the numbers are inflated.
Ya, we are in denial alright. NOT! It's Obama and his socialist agenda and all those people who put NOTHING into the system and get EVERY THING.
It's the corporations that Pay NO or little taxes, it is our over priced Medical, and drug companies ripping off the man/woman on the street.
It is the endless welfare programs that keep people from getting a job.
It is Congress giving themselves raise after raise for DOING NOTHING to put the money where it belongs: Back into OUR country and not stopping all those hand outs to every OTHER country that need to learn to live within their means and gives us NOTHING back.
instead of Obama and Congress thinking the tax payer is there to support the rest of the world, all payments to everyone for anything should stop now!
Like giving billions to the people in the middle east who are already turning on our solders and will kill us the first chance they get.
The American people are NOT over spending, OBAMA and CONGRESS is OVER spending.
Maybe your one the ones that needs two aspirin, drink plenty of liquids and get plenty of rest heh heh. I promise you, you will feel better in the morning lol
You mean Obama and the REPUBLICAN controlled Congress right?
And the six years when bush and congress (republican) spent like drunken sailors and started two wars their own kids were too chicken to go fight in...don't forget
Bush and the Republican Congress did spend more than they should have, even considering the additional spending needed to respond to th 9/11 attacks. But they were misers compared to Pelsoi, Reid and Obama.
Total National Debt
$5,662,216,013,697 – (01/01/2001) Bush Jr. about to take office
$8,680,224,380,086 – (01/01/2007) Reid & Pelosi take control of Congress
$10,699,804,864,612 – (01/01/2009) Obama about to take office
$15,676,996,273,861 – (05/14/2012)
The $15.6 Trillion doesn't even add in the cost of Obamacare.
Ignorance is bliss? National Debt is not going up because of current administration..it is going up because we as a group allowed the entitlement programs to be passed over the years, the tax cuts for most successful to be passed last decade, the severe economic downturn caused by excessive debt AND to get sucked into two unneccesary wars. "We have met the enemy and he is us"
Uhhhhh, Rick,........president Bush did NOT fly planes into the World Trade Center!!!! DUHH!!!!!
It's been my experience that poor adults are that way because they want to be...oh they may have great reasons why they can't seem to get above the waterline but it really does come down to their decision making about spending and williness to work longer hours and sacrifice...
What do they mean when they say living beyond your means? When you go to work you don't get paid.
This same attitude translates directly into the politicians we send to Washington DC. In order to get our votes, they promise and deliver benefits and programs that are not paid for.
People will bust their hump for 40 hrs. plus each week but won't spend 15 minutes deciding how best to spend their money.
If everyone is living beneath their means why is there a commercial on TV every 30 seconds about how this company or that, can reduce your ten thousand dollar credit card debt?
Personally, I am debt free. I owe no one and put away money every week.
Cash only for me. Banks make enough money from fees they charge their customers that they do not need my hard earned cash.
It is a mess that the government started only exacerbated by the irresponsibility of people. When banks are handing out interest only loans so households making 50k a year buy a $500k house and wonder why they're drowning in debt.
My question to the government is WTF do you need $660 Billion for "Discretionary Spending" You wouldn't need to cut defense, Medicare, Medicaid or always increase the debt ceiling if they did away with discretionary spending. I bet 90% goes to frivolous BS that doesn't affect the population of the US in anyway shape or form.
Mainah, can you say bridge to nowhere? In more ways than one.
Can't pay your mortgage, student loan or credit card bill, no big deal. The Federal Government will step in and use actual taxpayers money to help bail you out with lower rates or even debt forgiveness. You're not responsible for your own financial transgressions. Party hardy and let others foot the bill!
Yes ... Obama ... admit it, you are WAY overspending!!
Let's convince ourselves...we're OK. The Federal gov't will eventually collapse if something is not done regarding debt. If the whole system goes down...it just doesn't matter how "responsible" we have been, does it?
Ha.
Extreme greed and laziness makes people borrow their way through life and it's worse now because they see that they may get a free ride with a bailout. I've heard more excuses from people playing the system and all seem to say that what they're individually doing doesn't hurt the overall economy. However, when you add all of these people up it puts more than a dent in our economy. The attitude of the people found its way into government so it's no suprise that governments do the foolish things that they do. People want to blame the democrats, republicans, Bush, Omama or whoever. The ones to blame are generally the people in this country. Look at them. Too many unhealthy, fat, dumb, lazy practically good for nothings who want to blame everyone else but themselves for their problems. At the same time they want to have the same lifestyle as those who work and earn a good living. Clueless.
I'd contribute PART of the problem to that...but people didn't just suddenly turn lazy. Look at your own post name, "Underemployed3yrs."
Much of the problem is adjusting a free market to a global economy.
Stone6 - It's not "Underemployed" due to laziness and I'm quite ready willing and able to be fully employed, just not politically correct enough, maybe. Plus I happen to be debt free and still able to save due to prior good planning, earning and saving. A rare quality these days.