United States Credit Card Debt is Roughly $1 Trillion

According to an announcement made by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on February 16, 2023, credit card debt has surged to roughly $1 trillion. 

Credit card balances grew by north of $60 billion over the last three months of 2022, bringing the total amount of United States credit card debt to an all-time high of $986 billion. 

This surge in credit card balances has taken place at a time when there are increases in the interest rates paid on this debt, which have placed tremendous pressures on households that are already coping with mass inflation. 

The average credit card interest rate in the US in the last three months hovered around 21.6%, per a report by WalletHub. This marked a significant increase from the 18% interest rate in 2021. The Federal Reserve’s recent set of interest rate hikes has caused the increase in credit card rates.

Total household debt increased in the last three months of 2022, growing 2.4% to roughly $17 trillion, per the New York Fed’s findings. 

The average credit card holder carried a balance of $5,805 over the last three months of 2022, per research firm TransUnion found. This figure represented an 11% increase from 2022.

There’s clearly a crisis brewing among American households. Just like the federal government, many American households are living beyond their means. If we want to truly bring fiscal conservatism to the US government, we need to practice these principles at home. 

However, we cannot let the political class off the hook. These are the same people who push easy money, big spending, and small-business crushing regulations that stagnate, if not reduce, our living standards. America First populists must preach strong fiscal responsibility at home while proposing a platform of fiscal restraint, sound money, and a reduced administrative state.

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