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    Interest and the economy


    Please provide a short essay around 200 words with 1 reference for the following:

    Interest rates are nothing more than a fraction sometimes represented as a decimal or a percent. Interest rates impact all of us both professionally and personally. One area of great concern are interest rates and how they apply to credit card debt.
    Research interest rates and consumer debt using both your personal/professional experience and independent research, respond to the following:

    How has consumer debt changed over the past few generations?
    What role do interest rates play in consumer debt?

    Please be sure to cite evidence and research to support your conclusions. In addition, please refer to the rubric to understand what criteria will be used to determine your grade for your discussion response.


    Solution Preview

    How has consumer debt changed over the past few generations?
    -- Credit card debt has increased over the past few generations. We can see how this works in a cause-and-effect manner. As the economy has changed over the past few generations, we have seen unemployment rise, homeowners go into foreclosure, more people seeking out public assistance programs (such as emergency housing and emergency food banks, welfare, and other types of assistance). As part of this cycle, consumer debt has increased. Homeowner, particularly, have needed to find ways to continue running their homes (money for groceries, utilities, etc) and the mortgage all at once, on a monthly basis.
    This has led to an increase in ...

    Solution Summary

    This solution answers each of the four questions presented regarding consumer debt.