[blackdog]

Fixing consumer debt levels needs to be done by consumers refusing to use high interest credit cards on high balances. Use them like American Express cards. Just pay off your full balance each month. Spend only what you can pay off.

Once interest rates drop below 5%, some other bad things happen. Companies performing badly use lines of credit supported by increased stock prices based on speculation value. If a company can't turn a 10% before taxes profit, stay away from the stock. It's too easy to pump the stock with PR, keep borrowing 2% money to meet operating costs, and you eventually find a crash.

[Starboard]

The average bank card rate is about 20% and for store cards its about 30%. Very difficult to pay down balances with rates like that. But most consumers are oblivious to this fact, and quite frankly, don’t care. We are a very materialistic society where instant gratification is a high priority with consumers.