Indebted Americans Ponder Maggots as Rates Rise

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Reuters
A mouthful of maggots could not deter Michele Goncalo from vying for a $50,000 prize in a television game show because, like millions of other Americans, she wants to clear her credit-card debts. Besides tasting insect larvae on "Fear Factor," she crawled out of a helicopter as it hovered over a chilly lake. But luck was not with her. Goncalo was eliminated from the show, and a few weeks later the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2000.

...U.S. consumers are laboring under more than $2 trillion in debt after years of easy credit. And with that era drawing to a close, the plight of those who borrowed too much has fallen under a harsh spotlight.

...Americans possess more than 600 million credit cards, or 4.8 for every holder in the country, and have loaded that plastic up with some $700 billion.

..."We're a consumer nation, and advertising works," he said. "They create demand and you feel that you've got to have it ... They don't ask 'Can you afford it?' You just look at the monthly payments, and suddenly you can afford it."

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