Community | January 10, 2012 | 8 comments

CHART: How The Debt Limit Fight Hurt The Economy, Delayed Recovery

source: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/chart-how-the-debt-limit-fight-hurt-the-economy-d...

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WakeUpPeople
Last week’s surprisingly positive jobs report overshadowed another bit of good news for the economy: last November showed the biggest growth in consumer credit in 10 years. Typically that’s a sign that consumer confidence is up, banks are willing to lend, and demand is on the rise.

If you look back at recent monthly data, though, you’ll see that this particular green shoot should have poked through the ground months ago, but was stymied by the GOP’s debt ceiling hostage drama.

Take a look at the evidence: (IMAGE1)

That’s a year’s worth of data. Taken in the context of the collapse of the credit bubble, it’s a pretty small blip (see the right side of image below). But it’s a pretty big hit to a fragile recovery. It was only by November that total consumer credit returned to where it had been before the standoff on Capitol Hill. Look at the graph and you’ll see that the growth we just experienced could have come in July and August in the absence of that fight.

(IMAGE2)
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8 comments // CHART: How The Debt Limit Fight Hurt The Economy, Delayed Recovery

  • JohnA
    • +1
      JohnA  

    • And the economy will continue to hurt and any recovery will continue to be delayed until we cut our massive national debt that is crushing our nation under it's weight. The debt ceiling should not have been raised, it should have been lowered. We have to make severe cuts now, every program, every department, to reign in our national debt if our country is to be saved.

    • 5 months ago
  • warman1138
  • CreditFigaro
    • 0
      CreditFigaro  

    • Rising consumer debt is a bad thing. The problem, here is that the rich are too rich. It's pretty simple, folks.

      Rising consumer debt may make the bottom line GDP look good, but it doesn't produce the sound kind of economy that survives shocks easily.

      These numbers aren't good, they are the epitome of a government elected by people who didn't, in aggregate, vote for the best interests of the economy.

      Our slide into serfdom will continue, until the income inequality in our country is fixed.

      Until that day, all of this is fluff.

    • 5 months ago
  • DEM46
    • 0
      DEM46  

    • I've read about those who are coming of age right now in congress and how they are not able to compromise on anything. Those statesmen from the WWII generation actually could transcend party lines and work together to get things done. Great things in fact. Unfortunately, there is a group and this happens to be generational as well as during a period in our history that is unfavorable for anything to get done (Read: The Forth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe for an in-depth study on this) led by Teabaggers. It wasn't long ago that a party leader such as Boehner wouldn't have been compromised the way these Freshmen did by going against his recommendation for working together to end the debt ceiling debate.

      Very unfortunate.

    • 5 months ago
  • fiberbundle
    • +2
      fiberbundle  

    • I was hoping somebody would connect the Tea Party extortion over the debt ceiling, with the crappy performance of all our 401Ks. Whether you are conservative, Liberal or somewhere in between---these particular assholes, elected in 2010--AND LED BY ERIC CANTOR--- should be fired--for incompetence----- before they are allowed to collect lifetime benefits at taxpayer expense. Have any reservations?---Just review your 401 K statements and total up your losses.

    • 5 months ago
  • WakeUpPeople
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