Tag Archives: mortgage debt

Appearances are all that seem to matter in our society today. Dying in debt will be common place in the coming years. Fully 21% of Americans say they don’t think they will be able to pay off their debts — including their car, credit cards, student loans and mortgages — in their lifetime. Our debt addict society is dying of an overdose.

It's impossible to pinpoint when and where the next crisis will spring from but, looking at the actual U.S. consumer debt data today, it's not likely that consumer debt will be the trigger point of the next major capital market meltdown...

In 1990, Canadians owed 85 cents for every dollar of annual disposable income. Today that number has grown to a record $1.63. Meanwhile, Canadians are saving just 3.6% of their incomes today – a drop from 12% in 1990. Rising household debt levels have some sounding the alarm.

16 point 7 trillion dollars. That is our current national debt. 12 point 8 trillion dollars. That is the amount households carry in mortgage and consumer debt. We are now addicted to debt to lubricate the wheels of our financial system. There is nothing wrong with debt per se, but it is safe to say that too much debt relative to how much revenue is being produced is a sign of economic problems. At the core of our current financial mess is how we use debt as a parachute for any problem. [Unfortunately,] addictions are never easily cured and we have yet to come to terms with our insatiable appetite for debt. Words: 850