February 17, 2020

Americans’ Record Household Debt Is a National Problem

Too many Americans and especially Millennials are spending beyond their means.

There may be a simple reason why a majority of Americans appear unconcerned about the massive debt the federal government accumulates year after year — most folks live with significant debt themselves. With pretty consistent economic growth over the last decade — and especially the last three years — Americans have little excuse for the record amount of personal household debt they hold. But on Thursday, Americans’ average debt numbers were released and the figures should scare everyone.

“Total household debt now stands at a massive $14.15 trillion, which is $1.5 trillion above the prior record from 2008 as the financial crisis was hitting,” the Washington Examiner’s Quin Hillyer reports. “Credit card debt, at $930 billion, is likewise at an all-time high. Worse, in the fourth quarter of 2019, the proportion of credit card debt late by at least 90 days rose to 5.32%, an eight-year peak. For people aged 18-29, that rate of serious delinquency stood at a 10-year high of 9.36%. Of those with credit card debt in this age cohort, a whopping 67% of them report feeling serious stress about it.”

Is it any wonder Millennials in particular have responded positively to Bernie Sanders’s socialist siren song of “free college” and Medicare for All? It’s a shame that with all the bountiful opportunities to get a job and grow one’s wealth, the desire for immediate gratification and keeping up with the Joneses has trapped a growing number of Americans in a hamster’s wheel of debt.

“If someone has seriously delinquent credit card debt but owns the American average of 2.5 televisions (per household), then the $600 for the extra 1.5 TV was a choice, not a necessity,” Hillyer cogently observes. “If someone eats outside the home (or bagged lunch) just one fewer time per week, he saves another $468 per year. If he disposes of a perfectly good smartphone just to get the latest bells, whistles, or nanoseconds of speed, that’s a voluntary decision.”

If we as Americans can’t get our own personal spending under control, why would anyone expect lawmakers in Washington to quit running up the national debt?

(Edited.)

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.