Our Love Affair with Credit
Unfortunately, it's a freedom many people don't know. Even though most Americans appear to be handling their debt just fine, a significant—and growing—number of people are in serious trouble. Consumer bankruptcy filings have more than doubled since 1990, as shown in Table 3.2.
| Year | Total Nonbusiness Filings |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 718,107 |
| 1991 | 872,438 |
| 1992 | 900,874 |
| 1993 | 812,898 |
| 1994 | 780,455 |
| 1995 | 874,642 |
| 1996 | 1,124,286 |
| 1997 | 1,349,510 |
| 1998 | 1,405,695 |
| 1999 | 1,281,360 |
| 2000 | 1,217,628 |
| 2001 | 1,451,789 |
| 2002 | 1,566,358 |
| 2003 | 1,624,677 |
| 2004 | 1,563,145 |
Many condemn this trend as a symptom of a “live for today” ethic or on baby boomers who never learned the meaning of delayed gratification.
The truth is a little more complicated.
Many consumer bankruptcies ...
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