people were simply spending the money the government sent them during covid!
DUH!!
people are stupid and will spend more when you give them more!
A guy that worked for me said the biggest debt mistake he ever made was thinking he had lots of money because he got a bonus and had some time off. He spent the bonus, went out and bought an expensive motorcycle with the balance on credit. Doh!
I am told that people are also taking out credit on the bais of the student loan payment holiday and betting on the come that the debt will be forgiven. Oops again. Oh well, their hero joe will come up with some other scam to extract their vote. Well, not actually joe but his handlers whomever that faceless crowd is.