Across the US, people are increasingly defaulting on their car loans — a dire economic indicator because these loans are usually the last payment Americans are willing to miss. Meanwhile, auto insurers are raking in record profits after hiking rates.

Across the US, people are increasingly defaulting on their car loans — a dire economic indicator because these loans are usually the last payment Americans are willing to miss. Meanwhile, auto insurers are raking in record profits after hiking rates.

  • HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.orgEnglish
    81·
    2 days ago

    It is not by chance that the 2008 financial crisis was unleashed by the bankcruptcy of an investment bank which was trading with shaky housing loans, leading to an investment bubble, which in turn was pinched just after prices for oil had passed 140 dollar per barrel. Which lead people to reconsider the rationale that you would live cheaper if you resign to living far away from work with super long commutes. It was the pheripherical suburbs far away from cities where that calculation broke down first, and houses became unmarketeable first.

    That situation was then somewhat stabilized with quantitative easing and super cheap credit money, which also made energy extraction, and thus oil prices cheaper. Which essentielly means collectively borrowing money we can’t pay back, to finance energy and a way of living we can’t really afford. And states are still pumping more money into that.