"A record 7 million Americans are 90 days or more behind on their auto loan payments, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday, even more than during the wake of the financial crisis.
Economists warn that this is a red flag. Despite the strong economy and low unemployment rate, many Americans are struggling to pay their bills."
7,000,000 citizens cant afford to make payments of their automobile and we are in a "great economy). The facts belie what the President is telling us on a daily basis. How can you not afford a car payment while you are gainfully employed at a good paying job?
Beat me to it. Combined with a drop in the Producer Price Index as well [1]. It’ll be interesting to see what the ATL Fed shows in their updated GDP estimate.
Wait - Trump promised me he was going to replace Obamacare with a plan that would cover everyone on day 1. Does this mean he didn’t do that as promised? Where’s his new plan?
Another example of too many Americans failing to examine the personal responsibility component when purchasing a vehicle they know they can’t afford. The promotion of the victim role is highly effective. Blame something or someone else for a poor emotion based financial decesion. Today there is the added bonus of tying it to Trump.
We have a huge problem with consumer debt mismanagement in this society. We have for a long time. The collective amount of consumer debt has been nearly as large as the federal debt since before many on this boards were born.
Likewise municipal debt.
To be blunt, I’m surprised the house of cards hasn’t collapsed already. But the higher we build it, the more painful will be the collapse.
Remember that at least one quarter’s rosy numbers earlier this year was inflated at least 1% by a spurt in soybean exports in advance of tariffs being imposed. Both the short term gain and the resulting drop are artifacts of Trump’s trade war.
It’s actually very surprising to me the economy hasn’t crashed yet. It’s super unstable, with record high gains and record high losses terrifyingly frequently, not to mention a commander in chief who has literally no idea what he’s doing.
I don’t know what the trigger will be but when the big drop comes, buckle up.
