By Laurie Tema-Lyn of Practical Imagination Enterprises,
Reva Dolobowsky of Dolobowsky Qualitative Services & Marcia
Mogelonsky of Mintel International Group © 2001, Dolobowsky,
Tema-Lyn & Mogelonsky
Household
debt grows. While some wealthy pre-retirement boomers are paying
cash for their second houses the rest of the nation is up to its
ears in debt. You can use your credit card for just about anything
these days -- to pay for groceries, to pay your utility bill,
to pay your phone bill -- even to pay your income taxes. And Americans
are doing just that. According to the Federal Reserve, household
borrowing has risen almost 60 percent over the past five years,
to $6.5 trillion. While some may wonder what all the concern is
about -- after all, available credit, like so many other things,
is considered a symbol of having arrived -- "if you got it,
flaunt it!" But what is happening is that people in the weakest
credit position tend to carry the biggest burden of debt, at least
percentage-wise. If the economy crashes, they will crash big time.
And that could be a problem, in an unnerving, domino-effect sort
of way.
In the current
environment, people with bad credit histories and those with low
incomes -- people who used to find it hard to borrow money --
are finding it easier than ever to get plastic or even a mortgage.
And those with moderate incomes are potentially risking their
futures by taking advantage of an easy second mortgage or home
equity loan atmosphere. But optimists feel that the US is a safe
place in which to be in debt -- we are borrowing more money because
there is more money to borrow. And as long as the balance remains
tipped in favor of the borrower, the plastic revolution will continue.
On a lighter
note...
"Anyone
can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The
creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store
and fashion in an airport."
Robert
Wieder,
Author and stand up comic
