The U.S. Consumer – Overly Leveraged?
- Scott Carmack
- Jan 8, 2016
- 1 min read
Updated: Mar 27, 2024
Much has been made in the mainstream media regarding the increasing leverage of the average U.S. household. Indeed, in aggregate terms, the numbers can seem overwhelming, often times mind- boggling. At the end of 2014, consumer credit (including both revolving and non-revolving debt) had ballooned to over $3.2 Trillion and mortgage debt exceeded $13.3 Trillion. The amount of outstanding household debt rivals that of the U.S. government and U.S. annual GDP. The exponential increase can be seen in the graph below.