In the past few days, the U.S. government has issued reports on the number of jobs the U.S. economy added in July and economic growth during the second quarter of 2014.
These reports about the U.S. economy get a tremendous amount of attention. Lots of people read them and conclude that the good news in the reports means that Americans are faring well economy. Unfortunately, these reports are about 1 percent as significant as reports that depict the true economic condition of the American people.
Two days ago, I posted a report that said the median net worth of the American household had declined 36 percent in the past few years. The report I am posting today is entitled "A third of Americans delinquent on debt."
The information in the USA Today article includes:
* Thirty-five percent of Americans have debt in collections. This means that 35 percent of Americans are at least 180 days behind on at least one bill.
* "The 77 million Americans with debt in collections owe an average of $5,200. That includes debt from credit card bills, child support, medical bills, utility bills, parking tickets or membership fees."
* In 13 states, more than 40 percent of the residents with a credit file have debt in collections. They are almost all from the South.
* The statistics might be understating the debt problem because many low-income Americans don’t have a credit file and owe money to payday lenders who aren’t counted in the research.
As I wrote in my blog about Americans’ declining net worth, American policies need to be changed drastically or the American middle class will continue to grow smaller.
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