ZH: Why debt-to-income ratios are worse than they appear

ZERO HEDGE reports:

(Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com)

I recently published an article discussing why “recessions” are a good thing by reverting debt buildups excesses during expansions. The argument against debt reversions is always the same in that “debt-to-income” ratios low. To wit:

“One reason (of many) we don’t need a debt reversion is that household debt service costs (interest etc.) as a % of household incomes are currently at a 40 year low.” – S. Porter

If you look at a chart, it certainly would seem that would be the case.

(…)

But, like most data from the Federal Reserve, you have to dig behind the numbers to reveal the real story.

So let’s do that, shall we?

Every year, most Americans go further into debt just to “sustain” their standard of living. To wit:

“In 1998, monetary velocity peaked and began to turn lower. Such coincides with the point that consumers were forced into debt to sustain their standard of living. For decades, WallStreet, advertisers, and corporate powerhouses flooded consumers with advertising to induce them into buying bigger houses, televisions, and cars. The age of ‘consumerism’ took hold.“

To read the full post, please click here.