Household debt drops for 12th straight quarter
Sept. 16, 2011, 12:00 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Household debt in the second quarter dropped for the 12th consecutive quarter, according to data released by the Federal Reserve Friday that shows the continued drag from the bursting of the housing bubble. Household debt declined by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.6%, dragged lower by a 2.4% decline in mortgage debt as consumers took out fewer mortgages, paid off or how had debts forgiven, the Federal Reserve reported in its voluminous flow-of-funds report. Owners had 38.6% of the equity in their houses - unchanged from the first quarter but well below the 49.5% of 2007 as the housing market began to tumble. The corporate sector continued to stockpile cash, reaching a record $2.05 trillion at the end of the second quarter, up from $1.96 trillion at the end of the first quarter and as little as $1.4 trillion in 2008.
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And the GOP's solution for EVERYTHING is to allow corporations to 'stockpile' even MORE cash by reducing their taxes to ZERO. Hell, they aren't spending any of that money to hire people now, what do you think will change after they manage to 'stockpile' another trillion?
OCU
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