Authored by Martin Armstrong of armstrongeconomics
Credit card debt in the US spiked to its highest quarterly level in Q4 2022 after increasing by $85.8 billion. The average American household has about $10,000 in credit card debt, marking an 8.9% YoY increase. Now, Americans are facing $1 trillion in credit card debt due to rising APR and inflation.
The Federal Reserve reported that credit card debt has risen by $250 billion over the past two years amid record inflation. Consumer spending declined during the pandemic, as did credit card debt. However, inflation was nowhere close to what it is today. Credit balances declined by $100 billion from Q1 of 2020 to Q2 of 2021. Consumers were paying off their debts during this time, aided by numerous stimulus packages provided by the government.
Everything changed when Biden took office, killed America’s energy independence, and inflation began to spike. The central bank raised rates right before the war in Ukraine broke out, and have continued to do so at every meeting since. Various data collectors noted that consumers are not using their credit cards for luxury goods – they’re using credit to simply get by and pay for essentials.
Bankrate reported that 46% of cardholders cannot pay off their monthly credit card payments, up 7% from last year. The average APR is around 24% as of May 2023. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that the CPI rose 0.4% in April after increasing 0.1% in March. I reported how the true inflation rate is over 30%; they do not want to scare the public by posting the real data. Food, energy, shelter, and all the essentials to survival have reached historic levels. If nearly half of people cannot pay their credit card balances off each month, and interest is at a record high, consumer debt is guaranteed to rise continually. Nothing is more inflationary than war, and our war cycle is picking up going into 2024. So not only is the US government drowning in debt, but the average American is also struggling to make ends meet.