Woodstock Institute releases study documenting disturbing tr

Woodstock Institute is pleased to announce the release of a new report examining the alarming levels household debt in the United States.* Examining the different measures of debt and what they tell us about how households are savings and spending, Reinvestment Alert 30: U.S. Households Debt Levels are Worrying No Matter How You Look at Them underscores the importance of Woodstock’s work to figure out how ordinary families can build, not deplete, financial assets.* Some key findings are provided below.
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The full report is available for download by following the link below:
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[img]cid:image001.gif@01C66EBA.3FA9C1A0[/img]*Reinvestment Alert 30: U.S. Household Debt Levels Are Worrying No Matter How You Look at Them
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or http://www.woodstockinst.org/compone...nload/gid,621/
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*Some key findings:
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• Household debt rose from 71% of disposable household income to 126% between 1979 and 2005.

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• Total household liabilities increased from 20% of total household assets to 29% between 1999 and 2004.

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• Homeowners’ equity in their homes declined from 67% of their homes’ value to 57% between 1979 and 2004 despite rising home values that would add to an owner’s equity.

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• The median value of mortgage debt for families in the bottom fifth of the income distribution increased 191% and in the second lowest fifth, 124% between 1989 and 2001.

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• Self-reported credit card debt data show that between 1989 and 2004 credit card debt, in inflation adjusted dollars, doubled.

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• Credit card industry data show that the mean household credit card debt for families with at least one credit card exceeds $9,000.* Since 40% of families pay their credit card bills in full every month, families who carry balances have average balances considerably in excess of $9,000.

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