The Indebted Generation

For some time I have argued that you have to look beyond the simple demographic numbers of the aging population. There is something else going on that is equally, if not more important. The relative wealth of the generations is changing.


Demos (US, not UK think tank) publishes some interesting stuff on this issue.
Here is another article. It makes somewhat chilling reading.

Here are some quick facts: between 1992 and 2001, credit card debt among 18 to 24 year olds more than doubled. Credit card debt among their slightly older counterparts aged 25 to 34 increased by 55percent. Both these increases in debt are higher than what the average American household experienced over the same period.

Adding to the bill is student loan debt, which has mushroomed in recent years. Today, the average debt is $18,900, double what it was a decade ago. And whereas in 1992, the majority (64 percent) of public four year-college students didn't take out loans, these days, the majority do, with only 40 percent of graduates able to escape the fallout.

Exactly the same is happening in the UK. Dick Stroud