'YOLO spenders' have created a 'super-duper' credit bubble in the US economy, top economist David Rosenberg says

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 111 points –
'YOLO spenders' have created a 'super-duper' credit bubble in the US economy, top economist David Rosenberg says
businessinsider.com
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Fucking clown

People are taking on credit card debt for lots of reasons: emergencies, unexpected bills, gaps in weekly pay, but almost no one is doing it because YOLO

"but that doesn't make the poors sound irresponsible! we have to make them sound irresponsible so we can then swoop in and save them from themselves!" the banking shill, probably.

"...so we can then swoop in and save them from themselves!” the banking shill, probably.

I'm not so sure about that "probably." I think "so we can then swoop in and exploit them with even more predatory products and services!" is more likely.

Mine was the for-public-release version. Yours is the internal memo

Me paying the hospital bill because they wouldn't negotiate and threatened to send it to collections: YOLO 🥲

I dunno... I started watching Caleb Hammer on youtube and some of the people he's had on his show make me second guess the state of humanity.

Just saw a clip of a $1300 car payment on $3300 income. Floored.

Yeah it's almost always stupid expensive cars that get people in stupid debt on that show. But they "had to have a new car" 🙄

I want to agree with you buy I don't want to go off based on a blurb in a shitrag such as business insider.

Maybe Rosenberg has collected spending data and noticed increase in spending at e-commerce sites and malls?

Maybe, but even then is it YOLO to use credit to buy new clothes for work?

I'm certain that the data is far more complicated than is being presented.

for work?

From where did you get that?

You said spending at e-commerce sites and malls. One of the reasons people spend money at malls is to get clothes for work.

As for e-commerce sites, I'm not sure why you think people go to Amazon just for luxuries.

I started working with welding presses this past year and needed to buy a week's worth of jeans to meet safety requirements (I didn't really own jeans before lol)

Fortunately I had some savings, otherwise I'd have been forced to use credit to buy them before I got my first paycheck

Agh I don't envy you. I hate being anywhere near a spot welding machine or a press. Putting them together sounds like hell.

My household debt shot way up in the last year. I had a couple unplanned home repairs and a whole lot of hospital bills for my 4 year old. YOLO!

The American people should demand better of their Government. Debt to take care of your kid.

demand better

"Sounds like someone wants a rubber bullet and tear gas sandwich with some trumped up terrorism charges for dessert!" - basically every police department

Which desert are you taking about? The one in Arizona? I hear it’s super dry there.

Ironic that this article is paywalled, so poor people don't get to read more bullshit blaming poor people for costing predatory lenders money.

I’m not specifically advocating for this but am kinda astounded that with how many folks became weirdly obsessed with Fight Club for all the wrong reasons that one of them hasn’t at least tried to destroy a credit card company and its records.

>Thinking all that data isn't backed up to 4 different locations

I realize that, I’m just shocked someone hasn’t attempted it without knowing

Maybe because it is too impersonal? Like you can hate a person, hating an industry feels harder to do.

The credit card companies are just middlemen that process transactions for banks. All you'd get from blowing them up is lines to pull cash from the bank and bills in the mail to pay by check.

I think everyone should just collectively decide to quit paying their CC, en masse.

Mostly because I'm curious what would happen.

Economists say what their employer pays them to say. Even when they might be correct about something they should not be trusted anymore than you should trust the prosecution if you were in criminal court or the police officers interrogating you if you are a suspect in a crime.

Noticed how the "economist" here is avocado toasting instead of talking about the whole scale destruction of the middle class via shitty medical insurance programs and shitty infrastructure? Notice how he isn't going after the high frequency traders or short term thinking running rampant in our tech/industrial sector?

Impulsive spending has always been a problem for some people. It's nothing new.

I don't blame them. There's entire industries devoted to getting people to impulse buy. Almost $300 billion a year to convince us to buy things we otherwise wouldn't. And that's just for advertising alone.

I also don’t blame them because sometimes that’s the only real dopamine hit they get from their entire month’s paycheck.. and that’s wildly depressing.

Lol this is such a joke. No one needs a dopamine hit from retail therapy.

The problem here is that people still think you do.

There are so many ways to feel fulfilled and happy without buying plastic shit you don't need.

When you know buying your own home is impossible, why not use credit card to buy stuff that might give you dopamine hit, like shoes or clothes?

Because that's exactly how you never get a home. Stupid everyday splurges are the thing avocado toast tropes are really talking about. Money adds up...so yes if you buy red bottomed shoes or nice cars you won't be able to afford a house.

If you're not getting paid enough to buy a home then you need to improve your skill set and or change jobs. That's how successful people make it work. Anything else is on you.

That’s how successful people make it work

My landlord inherited 17 houses and hasn't worked a day in his life.

Do yourself a favor one day. Go leave the Western world. Go see how 7/8ths of the human race lives. Then tell me that the people there aren't just as resourceful, as hard working, as clever, as disciplined as anyone you have known in the developed world.

Consumer credit is right around where it was pre-pandemic if you adjust for how much the economy has grown. It's high, but you need more than this to call it a bubble. This is just how the US economy works.

Americans as a whole charge more on their credit cards when the economy is doing well like it was pre-pandemic and like it is now. When they are uncertain about their jobs, they pay it down or buy less so it doesn't increase.

I've never understood letting credit card balances ride unless you literally could not afford it. You're just willingly paying more for things.

Because buying shit is addictive, and credit card companies exploit people with poor impulse control. Most people don't know how compound interest works either.

I wonder if it would be best to implement some sort of rule where if someone has more than $1000 building up interest on a card they can't use the card anymore until it's been paid off in full. Or if that would just funnel people to predatory lenders and loan sharks.