Consumers battling debt

From CNNTMCorrespondent Irv Chapman

Americans spending more than incomes are rising, causing debt to reach record All across the nation, banks and other financial institutions have been sending pre-approved credit cards to millions of Americans.

And the latest data shows many consumers have been using those cards. In fact, for every $1 incomes have risen over the past five years, consumers have spent $1.10. That’s helped push consumer debt to record levels and has resulted in record debt, delinquencies and bankruptcies.

Despite a strong economy, 3-1/2 percent of credit card holders — or 6 million people – are now missing payments. That statistic
is at its highest level since the 1981 recession and is cause for alarm, according to Durant Abernethy, president and chief executive officer of the National Foundation for Consumer Credit.

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