Thursday, April 5, 2012

Private Debt 2012 (14): McConnell, Economics (1975), pp.280-81


Although the size and growth of public debt are looked upon with awe and alarm, private debt has grown much faster. Private and public debt were of about equal size in 1947. But private debt has grown much faster and is now over three times as large -- about $1,350 billion, compared with $470 billion -- as the public debt.

If you insist upon worrying about debt, you will do well to concern yourself with private rather than public indebtedness.

2 comments:

carbon credit investments said...

Absolutely correct. It was a balance sheet recession, driven by private debt.

The Arthurian said...

If only we had done something about it in 1975.