As The Stalwart continues to grow readership, I'd like to focus on opening up the dialogue. If you know of interesting stories that aren't being covered elsewhere then please email me or post somethign in the comments. Over the coming months, hopefully some more interactive features will be added to make The Stalwart more useful to you. In the meantime, I have a question that I'm hoping some of the readers can give me some insight into.
In October, new credit card rules are going into affect that for some consumers could significantly raise their monthly payments, especially for those accustomed to paying the minimum. Everybody knows that there are many consumers whose personal finances are in shambles and are teetering on the edge of catastrophe. They're leveraged to the hilt, and a rise in minimum monthly payments, or a loss of overtime, or one week of sickness would be all it takes.
But here's the question. What kind of numbers are we talking about here? I haven't seen, nor do I know how to find good data on the numbers of people in such a dire state. Finding the amount of total household debt isn't hard, but isn't quite as interesting to me. I'm not just worried about the lenders, who are exposed to this, but the overall economic and psychological effects of millions of people who can no longer spend.
If any of you have any ideas, or can help point me in the right direction, I'd be very appreciative.
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