Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Canadians' Household Debt Hits All-Time High, With Nearly $1.65 Owed For $1 Earned

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the amount owed by Canadians compared with disposable income increased in the second quarter as debt levels rose more than income.

The ratio of household debt to disposable income climbed to 164.6 per cent from 163.0 per cent in the first quarter, the agency reported Friday.

That means Canadians owed nearly $1.65 in credit market debt, which includes consumer credit, and mortgage and non-mortgage loans, for every dollar of disposable income.

It says household credit market debt grew by 1.8 per cent during the quarter, while disposable income grew 0.8 per cent over the same period.

"Hot housing markets in B.C. and Ontario are pushing mortgage growth, despite softness in oil producing regions,'' Bank of Montreal senior economist Benjamin Reitzes said.

"The increase in the ratio was the largest since 2011, though it's important to keep in mind that the second quarter generally sees the largest rise in the debt ratio, so don't expect further increases of this magnitude in the second half of the year.''

The increased borrowing comes at a time of low interest rates.

Reitzes noted the household debt service ratio, which measures the amount of interest and principal as a share of disposable income, increased 0.2 percentage points to 14.1 per cent.

However, he said interest payments as a share of disposable income hit a new record low at 6.37 per cent in the quarter.

Overall, total household credit market debt amounted to $1.874 trillion at the end of the second quarter, up 1.8 per cent from the previous quarter.

Household net worth increased 0.9 per cent in the second quarter as non-financial assets, primarily real estate, rose 1.8 per cent while net financial assets edged down 0.1 per cent.

On a per capita basis, household net worth increased to $243,800.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: CP

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