09.28.2023
Survey Says…
During its September meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opted to keep its policy rate unchanged — within a…
This week’s Chart of the Week focuses on debt levels of the U.S. consumer and federal government. For consumer debt, all forms of debt other than mortgages are included in the analysis. As of the fourth quarter of 2012, U.S. consumers collectively held debt of $2.8T. Over the 32 year time frame since 1981 (when data was first collected), consumer debt has increased from $378B to $2.8T, a whopping increase of 635%. However, this still constitutes a relatively small percentage of U.S. debt, and has hovered between 5 and 10% over the years.
On the other hand, federal debt has not only been a much higher dollar amount (not surprising), but has also been a much more volatile component of overall U.S. debt. As of the fourth quarter of 2012, the Federal Government’s debt was $11.6T. In the 32 year time frame, Federal debt has increased from $821B to $11.6T, an even larger jump of 1313%. Federal debt has averaged 22% of total U.S. debt ranging from a low of 16% to a high of 29%.
The chart above depicts these four debt data points: households’ consumer credit dollar amount, Federal government’s dollar amount, consumer debt percentage of total U.S. debt, and Federal debt percentage of total U.S. debt. The takeaways are quite evident. The Federal debt has increased significantly since the 3rd quarter of 2008 (onset of the Global Financial Crisis), and appears to be maintaining this trajectory. On the other hand, while consumers’ household debt has increased in absolute terms, there have not been dramatic spikes in the debt level. Additionally, it has maintained its weight in the overall debt picture. Given the disparity in both dollar amount and share of overall debt, the level (and trend) of federal debt will continue to have a much more notable impact on the economy and financial markets than consumer debt.
09.28.2023
During its September meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opted to keep its policy rate unchanged — within a…
09.27.2023
The federal government will shut down if Congress is unable to pass funding legislation by October 1, and a bill…
09.22.2023
Watch the flash talks from Marquette’s 2023 Investment Symposium livestream on September 15 in the player below — use the upper-right…
09.21.2023
After a red hot 2021, the initial public offering (IPO) market has materially slowed over the last two years amid…
09.12.2023
As investors and economists meticulously analyze data to predict future actions of the Federal Reserve, the domestic economy has maintained…
09.06.2023
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into…
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