Individuals decisions and individuals' debt problem to deal with.
#2 | Posted by MSgt

It's not a problem with the economy.
It's merely a problem with the individuals... who make up the economy.
Genius!

Guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people.
Debt doesn't kill the economy, people with debt kill the economy.
Genius!

Americans are encouraged to take on debt, to purchase a home, to get the mortgage interest income tax deduction.

Debt is how most Americans get the biggest government handout of their lives.

You can tell the tide is turning on the Trump Economy.

Because in good times, people going into debt and loading up on too many toys, is presented as some kind of Feel-Good Story.

Individuals decisions and individuals' debt problem to deal with.
#2 | Posted by MSgt

What about the lenders? They made decisions too.

"The amount of 'want' is hurting people."

The amount billionaires want is why paychecks are stagnant for the bottom 80% of households.

"IMO people got used to borrowing cheap money to get whatever they wanted"

That's the billionaires too.
Billionaires sheer when the Fed cuts interest rates, and cry when rates go up.
For most of us, those rates have no bearing on our day to day finances, and we're stuck with whatever rates are when we buy a house; maybe if we're lucky we get to re-fi.

Poor people aren't the reason people are poor.
An economy that is designed to serve the rich at the expense of everyone else is why people are poor.
Don't you know any poor people? Surely you're surrounded by them.

I simply refuse to take on debt anymore and haven't for over a decade.
#15 | Posted by lfthndthrds

Good for you.

Got any advice for people who weren't born with a trust fund and can't pull that off?

How would you have them purchase a home without taking on debt, or is your solid financial advice to be a renter forever and never build up any home equity?

This is a never-ending cycle.
#20 | Posted by eberly

Typical Republican head in the sand way to go through life.
You might as well have just said your usual:

Thoughts And Prayers.
Nothing Can Be Done.

It's silly, fiscally speaking, to not be in debt when you're wealthy.
Because inflation, makes long-term debt cheaper to pay off.

This is also why Capitalist economies always have a (low) rate of inflation.

Capitalism is an economic paradigm designed to enrich those who are already wealthy, at the cost of those who need things like jobs and loans, from those who are already wealthy.

It's sad having to explain "why inflation" to Republicans, but this is the economic reality we live in now.

People are poor for two reason mostly.
1) Bad decisions
2) illness (mental or physical)
#28 | Posted by lfthndthrds

Are Americans particularly bad decision makers, are Americans particularly prone to illness?
If not, why is there such rampant poverty in America, compared to say Canada?

"The U.S. has the highest poverty rate among developed nations, with a rate of 17.0 percent using the 50 percent poverty threshold, significantly higher than Canada's average rate of 12 percent."

What are the bad decisions and illnesses that cause our 50% higher poverty rate than Canada?
None of you chickenshit Republicans can even attempt to support your propaganda with facts.

"Double up on house notes whenever you can"

^
That requires going into debt, so you've completely contradicted your prior advice.

"There's lots of ways to be financially sound but a lot of people won't be disciplined enough to follow through."

So is that "Bad Decisions,"
or is that "Illness (physical or mental?"

Is it bad for the economy that there's increasing numbers of poor people under Trump?
Because you sure don't think it's a Republican problem to fix.
And yet you seem to think poor people themselves are bad people -- lazy, undisciplined, unhealthy. Those are bad things, right? Shouldn't we fix that up?

Should people who aren't poor be worried, when the number of poor people skyrockets? Could they be next?
Or is there no connection to the number of rich and poor, and the actual health of the economy.
It sure seems like Republicans insist there's no structure at all to poverty, and thus to the economy, it's all purely an individual thing.

Are Americans particularly bad decision makers?
Apparently so, especially when it comes to debt.
#37 | Posted by lfthndthrds

So then why is it wrong for the government to help people made better decisions?
Only conceivable reason is, you think more poor people will benefit the economy.