Consumer borrowing unexpectedly surges

[Gunny]

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Consumer borrowing rose in March at the fastest pace in four months, more than double the increase of the previous month.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that consumers increased their borrowing at an annual rate of 7.2 percent, compared with a 3.1 percent rate of increase in February.

The gain was much larger than economists had been expecting and reflected strong borrowing on credit cards and also in the category that includes auto loans.


more ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24507398/

Borrowing to put gas in their tanks ...

 

[jillian]

and heat and light their houses...and feed their families. they're selling their stuff, too....

Many are selling possessions to pay bills
By Tim Puko
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, May 5, 2008

A massage table takes up half the floor space in Rebekah Faith's living room. A skull wearing an eye patch and fading, wispy blond hair sits on the couch behind it, about a foot from a red, porcelain Buddha.
Her East Pittsburgh living room has become a refuge for all the bric-a-brac and equipment from Turtle Island, the business Faith closed last month because she wasn't making enough to pay rent.

Now desperate to pay her electric bill and get health insurance, Faith, 34, and her fiance are taking the increasingly popular step of selling almost everything they can online to pay rising bills.

"Times Are Tough ... Must Sell Stuff," reads the tag on the Craigslist.org posting they put up last week. The lead item is a 24-channel audio mixing board.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_565826.html

 

[Toro]

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal the other day about how borrowing against 401k plans has soared.

Debt Nation.

 

[Paulie]

Borrowing and spending is what keeps our economy afloat. Matter of time before we go the way of the Romans.

 

[Gunny]

and heat and light their houses...and feed their families. they're selling their stuff, too....



http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_565826.html

No doubt. Anyone living on the edge before the prices of everything started going up are pretty-much screwed.

 

[Gunny]

Borrowing and spending is what keeps our economy afloat. Matter of time before we go the way of the Romans.

You just now figuring that out? The Romans didn't go because of borrowing and spending though. They're gone because they forgot what made them great and fell from within when they no longer had the balls to fight for what they considered they were entitled to instead of something that had to be maintained.

They screwed themselves and we're going the same route.

 

[Toro]

No doubt. Anyone living on the edge before the prices of everything started going up are pretty-much screwed.

Explaining the riots over rice in the Third World.

 

[Zoomie1980]

Explaining the riots over rice in the Third World.

We have reached pretty close to sustainable global capacity. When we truly hit that mark (we may be close) the global death rate MUST equal the global birth rate. Any excess in birth rate over death rate will be almost immediately equalized. It's just the way it is. And it won't be first world societies suffering the equalization....

 

[Angel Heart]

It comes down to fertility rates....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_rate

The total fertility rate (TFR, sometimes also called the fertility rate, period total fertility rate (PTFR) or total period fertility rate (TPFR)) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if (1) she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime, and (2) she were to survive from birth through the end of her reproductive life. It is obtained by summing the single-year age-specific rates at a given time.

If there were no mortality in the female population until the end of the childbearing years (generally taken as 44 or 49, though some exceptions exist) then the replacement level of TFR would be very close to 2.0 (actually slightly higher because of the excess of boy over girl births in human populations). However, the replacement level is also affected by mortality, especially childhood mortality. The replacement fertility rate is roughly 2.1 births per woman for most industrialized countries but ranges from 2.5 to 3.3 in developing countries because of higher mortality rates.[1] Taken globally, the total fertility rate at replacement is 2.33 children per woman. At this rate, global population growth would trend towards zero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_fertility_rate

United States
2000 -- 2.06
2008 -- 2.10

It's not the USA that's the issue when it comes to over population.

Until their fertility rates drop, it will get worse.

 

[doeton]

You just now figuring that out? The Romans didn't go because of borrowing and spending though. They're gone because they forgot what made them great and fell from within when they no longer had the balls to fight for what they considered they were entitled to instead of something that had to be maintained.They screwed themselves and we're going the same route.

gosh and here i thought it was due to an overextended empire....

 

[sealybobo]

Borrowing to put gas in their tanks ...

you guys call me a conspiracy theorist when I tell you the federal reserve is the root of all our problems. let me explain.

the super rich own this country. the guys that started the federal reserve also own oil, phones, drug industry, cars everything..... they don't care about america, just profits.

they even move their hq's offshore to avoid paying taxes.

at first we thought mexicans only picked fruit and did jobs americans didn't want. and many americans didn't think their job could be done in india, but now it is.

I don't begrudge the rest of the world for it, but the corporations are going to pit us against each other. then there won't be des and reps. it'll be country vs country. these billionaires will convince us other world leaders are evil, like saddam,chavez, castro, and amadenijad. but if you play along, you get taken off the axis of evil, like north korea was just taken off. Il jung kim just realized he better play along or else....

the dems are the labor party. not perfect, but all we got.

 

[Gunny]

gosh and here i thought it was due to an overextended empire....

Guess you thought wrong. I woulnd't expect YOU to agree for it is a harbringer of things to come for YOUR beliefs. Better to stick your head in the sand and play ostrich.

 

[sealybobo]

and it may seem like big oil is screwing the american car companies, but disaster capitalism has helped move ford into china and europe and they are busting the unions to. it'll be worth it in the long run.

my theory is eventually, american vp's and managers will even find themselves replaced by their chinese,india,german,etc counterparts. they started with customer support, It, then sales, etc. start at the bottom and work your way up. the people above always think they won't be next.

 

[JimH52]

Borrowing to put gas in their tanks ...

I am shocked! Paying $4+ a gallon for gas will do that for you. If this sprial in crude oil continues, we could see Fortune 500 companies going under. This could be Islam bringing the "Great Satan" to its knees...IMHO

 

[editec]

you guys call me a conspiracy theorist when I tell you the federal reserve is the root of all our problems. let me explain.

the super rich own this country. the guys that started the federal reserve also own oil, phones, drug industry, cars everything..... they don't care about america, just profits.

they even move their hq's offshore to avoid paying taxes.

at first we thought mexicans only picked fruit and did jobs americans didn't want. and many americans didn't think their job could be done in india, but now it is.

I don't begrudge the rest of the world for it, but the corporations are going to pit us against each other. then there won't be des and reps. it'll be country vs country. these billionaires will convince us other world leaders are evil, like saddam,chavez, castro, and amadenijad. but if you play along, you get taken off the axis of evil, like north korea was just taken off. Il jung kim just realized he better play along or else....

the dems are the labor party. not perfect, but all we got.

I just gotta sign on to most of that thumbnail sketch of our society.

It's a breif but essantially accurate accessment of where we're at.

 

[JimH52]

Does anyone else feel helpless? What can the average Joe do?

 

[Paulie]

Does anyone else feel helpless? What can the average Joe do?

Pay your high interest debt off as much as you can, and don't take out anymore NEW debt. Bulk shop for items that are rising in price. Cancel out the little things in your life that you don't need. Downgrade the cable package, downgrade the cell phone plan, have a yard sale and get rid of your junk.

I mean, these are little things, but you asked, so I'm answering.

Basically, just live within your means and don't worry about what the Jones' are doing next door.

 

[sealybobo]

Pay your high interest debt off as much as you can, and don't take out anymore NEW debt. Bulk shop for items that are rising in price. Cancel out the little things in your life that you don't need. Downgrade the cable package, downgrade the cell phone plan, have a yard sale and get rid of your junk./QUOTE]

good advice, but not the america I want to live in. I didn't go to college to be broke. and the economy won't rebound if we all tighten up. and I don't see companies givin out raises anytime soon. not if mccain wins.

so i'll spend all my money on gas and EVERYTHING that costs more because of gas and the weak ass dollar.

I can't believe we argue with these neo nuts.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Pay your high interest debt off as much as you can, and don't take out anymore NEW debt. Bulk shop for items that are rising in price. Cancel out the little things in your life that you don't need. Downgrade the cable package, downgrade the cell phone plan, have a yard sale and get rid of your junk./QUOTE]

good advice, but not the america I want to live in. I didn't go to college to be broke. and the economy won't rebound if we all tighten up. and I don't see companies givin out raises anytime soon. not if mccain wins.

so i'll spend all my money on gas and EVERYTHING that costs more because of gas and the weak ass dollar.

I can't believe we argue with these neo nuts.

Actually it is good advice no matter where you live.

Look if people weren't overextended in the first place, then what they are feeling financially would be a pinch and not a punch.

Whatever happened to the time tested philosophy of "spend less than you make and save for the future"? We shouldn't need another generation to go through a depression to figure that out.

You have to start running your personal finances like you would a business. Know every penny coming in and know where every penny is going. get Quickbooks and run your household like a business half the problem of personal finance is that most people can't tell you what they spend their money on.

 

[editec]

Actually it is good advice no matter where you live.

Look if people weren't overextended in the first place, then what they are feeling financially would be a pinch and not a punch.

Whatever happened to the time tested philosophy of "spend less than you make and save for the future"? We shouldn't need another generation to go through a depression to figure that out.

You have to start running your personal finances like you would a business. Know every penny coming in and know where every penny is going. get Quickbooks and run your household like a business half the problem of personal finance is that most people can't tell you what they spend their money on.

Whatever happened to the time tested philosophy of bla bla bla?

Where have you been, Mars?

The 21st century happened.

Out sourcing, job insecurity, layoffs by the tens of thousands, diminishing wages, prices on ESSANTIALS rising much much faster than anyone's salary, you know...things like that?

Telling people not to spend money unwisely, (while always good advice) presumes that people are in trouble because they are spending unwisely.

If that presumption isn't true, (and frankly I doubt it is true for most families) than all that sage advice is not only worthless, but somewhat insulting, too.