Whatever happened to the 'Bidenomics' propaganda pushed by the White House and amplified by leftist corporate media outlets? Well, that narrative quickly imploded, just like the narrative that President Biden is the 'sharpest person in the room.'
A majority of Americans are livid with Bidenomics. They have been financially crushed by elevated inflation and high interest rates as the national debt uncontrollably soars by $1 trillion every 100 days. The economic pain is very real and has sent households into a downward spiral. Now, credit card debt delinquencies are soaring, reaching the highest level since 2012.
The Democratic Party's propaganda machine in corporate media has spent this entire week attempting to convince the American people that Vice President Kamala Harris should be the next president of the US. From 'saving to democracy' to 'young blood' - the radical left has tried to spin all sorts of narratives this week, even rewriting the history of Harris' past to skewing polls (see: here & here & here).
The problem with Democrats propping up the former 'Border Czar' is that it won't affect the dire situation for tens of millions of voters who find themselves in financial turmoil because of failed Bidenomics. Many folks are suffering and have trouble paying shelter costs, and don't get the American people started about food inflation at the supermarket - it's a sour topic.
The damage to the working poor and middle class has already been realized. By the way, the pain is creeping towards high-income classes...
On Thursday, Goldman analyst Natasha de la Grense told clients, "Not a great start to earnings season in Consumer, with very few positive surprises so far. Both high-end consumption and the low-income consumer are weak."
With that in mind, cracks in the consumer sector are widening significantly. New data from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reveals that the share of past-due credit card balances in the first quarter reached the highest level since records began in 2012.
Here's more from the report:
All measures of balance-based credit card delinquency rates posted their highest levels in the nearly 12-year history of the series in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the total number of credit card accounts 30, 60, and 90 days past due declined for the first time in a year, following typical seasonal trends.
Figure 1 plots the share of credit card balances and accounts 60 or more days delinquent, highlighting the divergence in trends across the two measures of card delinquencies this quarter. Although the share of accounts falling behind on payments was smaller, account holders who are behind have larger balances left unpaid. Utilization and average account balances declined this quarter across all percentile cuts, in a typical seasonal reduction following holiday spending.
Furthermore, the report noted total number of credit cards fell in the quarter, consistent with seasonal trends. However, total revolving balances reached a record $628.6 billion. Revolved balances account for about 71% of total outstanding balances, the highest level since 2021.
The report also noted that "account holders who are behind have larger balances left unpaid."
Even with inflation cooling and rate traders pricing in the first 25bps interest rate cut in September, the lag effect will be months before consumers see any direct relief.
Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, told NBC News, "Interest rates are not going to fall fast enough to bail you out of a bad situation."
