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To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (11422)	7/1/2003 1:31:18 PM
From: bozwood	Respond to of 306849

The actual # is around 14% and is close to the high set back in '86 (time period I have is '80 through current). During the official recession, this ratio actually worsened which is different from past recessions. In addition, as I pointed out, total debt as a percentage of disposable income is at or near all-time highs.

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (11422)	7/1/2003 1:34:19 PM
From: bozwood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

federalreserve.gov

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (11422)	7/1/2003 1:46:21 PM
From: bozwood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Here is a link to total debt graph: www.monthlyreview.org/0402fig4.pdf

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (11422)	7/1/2003 2:14:08 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Its a macro view, not average, not median. The economy taken as a whole. All disposable income against all consumer debt payments. Economists do disagree somewhat on what it is that defines disposable income (but not nearly as much as they disagree on "descretionary" income), but they agree enough for the chart to be meaningful. Here's one definition: DISPOSABLE INCOME: The total income that can be used by the household sector for either consumption or saving during a given period of time, usually one year. This is the income left over after income taxes and social security taxes are removed and government transfer payments, like welfare, social security benefits, or unemployment compensation are added. If you zoom out on the time frame you'll see that people always attempt to reduce their debt service during periods where they feel insecure about the future, during times of rising unemployment and they take on more when times are good. Individuals always vary from the macro, but collectively they compose it. That particular chart comes from the St.Louis Fed but that doesn't mean that they don't use data from some other source like the BLS or the Dept of Commerce. The site doesn't comment on what the charts mean because they assume that one goes there, as I do, with a certain knowledge about what these economic terms mean. Most people presenting you with a chart are selling you a bill of goods and have a particular bias either positive or negative, like those articles about everyone drowning in debt. Here is the whole site. if you want your data interpreted you'll have to choose your poison, I prefer to see data without BS commentary, I can make my own conclusions. economagic.com The site has many different data sources as you can see.