Infographic: The Real Reason You Have So Much Debt (It’s Not Crazy Spending)

$11.85 trillion in household debt has more to do with stagnant wages (and predatory banks) than shopping sprees .

Why you can trust us

By Heidi Bruce &
Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz

< 1 MIN READ

Aug 13, 2015

Sources:

Introduction http://daviddegraw.org/peak-inequality-the-01-and-the-impoverishment-of-society/ $11.85 trillion: http://www.newyorkfed.org/householdcredit/2015-q1/data/pdf/HHDC_2015Q1.pdf 1. http://www.davemanuel.com/median-household-income.php https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr12-02.pdf http://www.aei.org/publication/the-college-textbook-bubble-and-how-the-open-educational-resources-movement-is-going-up-against-the-textbook-cartel/ https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CPIAUCSL https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/MSPNHSUS https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CUSR0000SAM2 http://www.gobankingrates.com/savings-account/average-american-profile-earnings-spending-saving-money-today/ http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/ http://investor.equifax.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=892028 http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/08/09/student-loan-debt-surpasses-credit-cards/ 2. Nonmortgage debts: http://www.urban.org/research/publication/delinquent-debt-america Top 10 States: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/08/13/10-states-struggling-with-delinquent-debt/ 59%: https://www.creditdonkey.com/average-american-savings-statistics.html Savings rates: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/PSAVERT/ 3. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/statistical/stats/2014sep/industry.pdf http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/bank-yields-loans-1276.php This infographic was revised on August 17, 2015.

Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz is the former creative director at YES!, where she directed artistic and visual components of YES! Magazine, and drove branding across the organization for nearly 15 years. She specializes in infographic research and design, and currently works with The Nation, in addition to YES! She previously worked at The Seattle Times, The Virginian-Pilot, Scripps Howard Newspapers, Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, The Connecticut Post, The San Diego Tribune, The Honolulu Advertiser. She lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and currently serves on the board of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association. Tracy speaks English.

Heidi Bruce

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