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Comment by _bxg1 | Hacker News Reader

> Basic necessities and healthcare costs may be sending some people into debt, but more people point to spending on non-essential items like clothing and entertainment as the main culprit. In CNBC Make It’s survey, 32% of people said their discretionary spending was the No. 1 cause of their current credit card debt.

> Another 9% say the majority of their debt comes from paying for travel. Americans spend an average of $483 a month on non-essentials such as dining out, entertainment, luxury items and vacations, Schwab’s 2019 Modern Wealth report found.

I wonder how this compares to past generations, and if it's more true now, I wonder what the cause is. More aggressive advertising? Propping up one's mental health in the face of a stressful socio-political climate (its effects greatly amplified by social media)? FOMO (also amplified by social media)?

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Isn't it more likely that economic inequality is the primary cause?

https://i.imgur.com/2kfyBPt.png

if 32% of people say that discretionary spending is the number one cause of their debt, doesn't that cast at least some doubt as to whether economic inequality is the primary cause of this particular issue?

Why would an increase in economic inequality increase discretionary debt? The wealthy would pay it off, and the poor would be tightening their belts (or at least not loosening them).

The broader problem definitely has to do with inequality, but this slice of it is surprising and really probably doesn't relate to that.

I suspect rising income inequality and increasing housing costs are the primary drivers of CC debt.

You generally can't pay rent with a CC and if rent goes up but income doesn't, then I could see people using CC to make ends meet.

Of course for some, overconsumption is the culprit, but I doubt it is for most people.

In the article, it says for 32%, discretionary spending was the primary cause. That's all I was talking about.

Is it just about convenience and unrealistic expectations? Cooking can be cheap, eating out teens to be more expensive, but many of us feel we have to do it. Few people take a sandwich to work - many seem to rather buy it.

The same for "how to holiday". Holiday means today taking a plane (or in the case of USA long distance driving as well) and staying in a hotel (or Airbnb and then eating out). What happened to cheap holidays like camping and hiking? Am I just in the wrong crowd these days or has this mostly faded out?

It's also interesting to note that Trump's tariffs are estimated to cost Americans about 800 a year, or about 2 months of discretionary spending, yikes.

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