The Rabbit in our Pocket

Someone told me the other day that the average American is in credit card debt for $16,000! Great, I thought, I've never been so happy to be below average. (paradoxically, below average is above average, right?)

The number stuck with me. Could it be right? A new car in debt? A year's worth of work in debt?

I dug around, and found wildly different numbers. This site nearly cut the number in half, but then told me it was realistically closer to $2000. I inch closer to being average.

Creditcards.com phrased it in a way that made a bit more sense.

"...the average American with a credit file is responsible for $16,635 in debt..."

OK. Total debt/amount of credit card holders. So some big spenders have collectively put us a year behind the ball. I hope they have nice toys.

While researching, I came across Money as Debt, an animated feature on the origins of credit. It's 45 min. long; I downloaded it to prevent the start and stop of inconsistent bandwidth. It's an eye opener, to say the least.

As if being a slave to personal debt wasn't bad enough, it also happens to be Americas No 1 Export.

In the end, I'm left wondering; If it's so pervasive, why should I care how much debt I or the government has? It's status quo. Why not go on a spending spree for canned foods and a fallout shelter? I promise that after the dust has cleared, I'll pay it all back.

Scout's honor.