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Comment by Wowfunhappy | Hacker News Reader

...I'm not saying this is good, but doesn't the existence of inflation mean we'll always keep breaking this record?

yes but you can graph trends over time: https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc

for example, the last time we saw a nice little rise was in 2008 where nothing bad happened and everything was okay (look at the 90+ day delinquency rates). at least housing and mortgages are fine for now but if there was ever an actual recession indicator, this may be it

I think you're putting the cart before the horse: the rise looks to have been constant, punctuated by then leveling off and falling, of which we currently see only the barest hint

we're looking at the 90+ day default line chart? 2008 saw an increase from sub 8% (which seems to be the norm) to 13%. 2023 was at 7% and we're right now sitting at 13% again. there are no other significant swings in credit card debt

Okay, I see what you're saying. Since the web can't be bothered to make links work anymore, the link just takes you to the first chart (total debt) rather than the third one (delinquencies)

"In the final quarter of 2019, U.S. credit card debt reached a record high of $930 billion."

Which equals $1,208.46 billion today

So it is past inflation by $52 million?

yep, and depending on what meaning you want to derive population matters too. also kinda like all kinds of movies have been breaking sales "Records" but if you look at the inflation adjusted top ten, #1 is still "Gone With the Wind".

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