CA renter: Have you seen the statistics on the absolute explosion of consumer debt since 1980? It is staggering.

The American consumer is 70% of the economy, and has been papering over the lack of real wages with debt for the last 25 years. When Joe Sixpack finally wheezes to a stop, it’s gonna be ugly.

My grandparents on my Mom’s side lived through the Great Depression and I will never forget what a huge impact it had on them. Even after the prosperity of the war years and the 1950s changed their standard of living, they still remembered and were always careful not to live above their means. There are some hard lessons coming.