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Originally posted by onetime2
Nowhere did I say rising bankruptcies weren't happening I said they weren't a problem for the economy because they are relatively small.
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Nope you said
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Yes they have been increasing their debt levels but not beyond what is sustainable based on their levels of wealth accumulation. If it was not sustainable what do you think would be happening to bankruptcies and foreclosures?
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which was in response to my assertion that Americans are accruing unhealthy amounts of debt. I only brought up the increasing bankruptcy rate after you posted this because it seemed to run counter to your statement.
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You ignore everything I've said because it doesn't fit your theories. Theories which are based on little to no knowledge of the facts as demonstrated by your single piece of evidence pointing to how much worse off the average worker is. It's truly a shame that piece of evidence was proved not to support your case.
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Stats on "wealth" growth are a little more difficult to find than stats on income. Here are a few:
http://www.faireconomy.org/research/wealth_charts.html
These are from 1998, the most recent year of wealth statistics that I could find. You were right in your assertions that wealth has grown for a significant portion of the population, but the losses for the bottom 40% are dramatic.
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If bankruptcies were a problem for the economy where do you think the cost of credit would be? After all, anytime banks lose money they have to make it up by charging more right?
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This does sound reasonable, but I never said bankruptcies were going to shake our economy. See above. Anyway, our credit market has been driven by the lowest interest rates in recent memory. it cannot last forever.
To try to steer this debate back to a more polite footing, aren't you concerned with the record levels of consumer debt? I've heard voices from across the political/economic spectrum decry it.
This article from thestreet.com seems to predict that this mountain of debt will begin to bite back soon. Are they and other conventional economic voices nothing but Chicken Littles?