Posted on 06/22/2004 12:03:37 PM PDT by RWR8189
Kerry Claim: Families are finding it harder to make ends meet because they are struggling to keep up with mounting debt.
The Truth: Low interest rates are allowing Americans to purchase a home, invest in education, and buy their first car. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan this week pointed out that the increase in household debt reflects the increase in homeownership. (Remarks by Alan Greenspan, U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 6/15/04)
Greenspan: Debt Rising Because Of New Mortgages And New Homeowners. "So I'm not actually concerned at this point that we are looking at a really serious consumer debt problem, especially when one of the major factors in the growth of mortgage debt -- in fact, 10 percent of the level of mortgage debt -- occurs as a consequence of the fairly significant increase in the ratio of households who are homeowners." (Remarks by Alan Greenspan, U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 6/15/04)
Greenspan: Because Of Increased Homeownership, Rising Ratio Of Debt To Income "Is Not Evidence Of Deterioration In Household Finances." "And as a consequence of that, what you have is a very significant part of the population which have gone from renter to homeowner and in the process have statistically increased the amount of household debt -- mortgage debt in this case -- very substantially. But I would never argue that the renters by moving, by becoming homeowners, had their financial situation significantly deteriorated. So part of this ratio of debt to income is not evidence of deterioration in household finances." (Remarks by Alan Greenspan, U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 6/15/04)
Greenspan: Economy Not Near Worrisome Debt To Income Ratio. "It is the case, however, that if we continue to get very significant increases in the ratio of household debt to income, that the debt service charges, obviously, will be going up. And there is a conceivable point out there which I would consider worrisome. I just don't think that we are anywhere near there yet. And I doubt if we will." (Remarks by Alan Greenspan, U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 6/15/04)
Greenspan: Delinquencies and Defaults Are Not Concerning. "The amount of income that is now moving into consumer markets has become an ever-important factor in consumption. And even though it is the case that credit card debt has moved up significantly, it's not large enough to be a serious concern. And indeed the delinquencies and the defaults are not particularly large relative to what one ordinarily expects in that type of business. And indeed delinquencies generally have been exceptionally low across the board in the consumer area, especially, for example, in mortgage and in home equity loans." (Remarks by Alan Greenspan, U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 6/15/04)
In other words, Kerry thinks we are too stupid to know what we can afford. We are too stupid to manage our own money. We need to give Kerry more of it to control our lives. Only he knows how to manage money. Marry it! What an absolute ass!
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