Many economists have been mystified that even though the recession is “over”, American consumers have not opened their wallets and started spending again like they normally do at the end of a recession. News report after news report has encouraged Americans to grab their credit cards and to head out to the stores and start spending again, but it just is not happening. So why are things different this time? Well, for one thing there is a lot of fear in the air. Poll after poll after poll shows that faith in the economy has collapsed and that large numbers of Americans fear that things are going to get even worse for the economy soon. But for millions of other Americans there is another problem – they couldn’t spend more money if they wanted to. The truth is that living on credit for decades has caught up with us as a nation. Americans are absolutely drowning in mortgage debt, car loans, credit card debt and student loan debt. As wages have stagnated, credit has enabled many of us to pursue the American Dream and to live far beyond our means, but that doesn’t last forever. Now tens of millions of Americans are completely and totally tapped out. But without the return of the voracious American “consumer” there is not going to be a full economic “recovery”. (Read More...)