Household Debt Is Getting Out Of Hand. Here’s Why It’s At An All-Time High.

It’s one of the most common questions people have: If the economy is doing so well based on every official metric, then why are there so many anecdotal indicators — which we all see in our day-to-day lives — that Americans are struggling financially? 

If the stock market is near all-time highs, unemployment is low, and everyone is extremely (one might say excessively) well-fed, then to all outward appearances, we’re doing pretty well as a country. So why are so many people complaining about food prices, the cost of living, and the difficulty of getting a job? Has everyone gone insane? Have we become a nation of whiners, unwilling to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps? Are the numbers cooked? There has to be some explanation. But no one seems interested in providing one.