Guest post
The financial environment in the United States is still confusing.
There is still a huge level of credit card debt. Spending is a boost to any economy, but if it is spending that individuals can ill afford, then is it a recipe for disaster?
A recent survey by USA Today/Wells Fargo makes for interesting reading. Of the respondents that had a view on the US Economy, as many took a positive stance as a negative one. Half the respondents had no strong views either way, but they must clearly have doubts.
The majority of respondents did tend to have a more positive view of their own individual prospects than that of the economy as a whole. Perhaps that is backed up by the significant level of credit card spending at present. Consumers believe they will be able to pay their bills and manage their finances. It is a strange scenario when people who have seen the damage the recession caused are wary, at best, at the national economy's prospects, and are happy to spend so liberally. ‘Liberally' is subjective of course. Some commentators feel that spending should be at a higher level if the recovery is real. The fact that it isn't, they say, is something that may be a decisive factor in next year's Presidential Election.
Beyond the general split between those thinking the economy has good prospects and those that don't, respondents were asked what they expected to see in a year's time. The figures were pretty much the same in the survey of 3,500 US adults in June of this year.
Opportunities
It is a cliché, but the US has been described as the land of opportunity; it is a generalization. It seems that in detailed terms, people feel there is less opportunity today. It may be because of their current employment and the relatively poor signs of increased salaries. Banks are still reluctant to lend, but in contrast, online lenders are beginning to make a bigger penetration into the personal loan market, which will certainly cheer up those who have tried to get financing through traditional channels but failed.
