They're not going to bother covering their butts...they are setting it up to have the cane come down on ours:
PORTLAND, Ore., May 22 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Edward
Kelley said on Tuesday that while U.S. consumers have amassed debt at
record levels, they are managing it and still helping out the U.S. economy
with continued spending.
``For some time now our personal savings rate in this country has turned
negative, which means we as a people are spending more than our income and obviously when you do
that you go further into debt,'' he said in his remarks to the Rotary Club of Portland.
While they have reached record levels, consumers are handling their debt burdens for the time being, he
said, adding: ``We're handling it okay, it's not a problem right now but it's a worry.''
He noted that continued consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of the U.S. economy, is propping up
the economy.
``If the consumer decides that he or she doesn't want to spend anymore then the economy will begin to
weaken,'' he said. ``Consumers are still out there spending. They are in the malls, they are buying things.''
Credit, he said, is still available, helping consumers sustain their hungry spending appetites.
``Credit flows from financial institutions to consumers are still rolling along quite strongly,'' he said.
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