Americans paid nearly 50% more in credit card expenses last year compared to the year before President Joe Biden took office — adding fuel to cries by Republican over the cost of living crisis facing voters ahead of November’s election.
In 2023, US credit card holders shelled out $157 billion in interest and fees on their credit cards – an increase of $51 billion compared to 2020, according to information provided by banks to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was first reported by Financial Times.
Meanwhile, credit card delinquencies are the highest in 13 years, according to Moody’s Analytics, as inflation-battered shoppers have charged up a record $1.13 trillion as of the final quarter of 2023.
Banks, however, have reaped have record profits from credit card lending as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 23-year high. On Wednesday, the central bankers kept the rate unchanged.
The crushing debt has cast a pall over so-called Bidenomics, with a recent survey showing that half of Americans believe they were better off when Donald Trump was president.
A majority of those polled also said the economic performance under Trump — who is expected to battle Biden in a rematch for the White House — was far higher than his Democratic successor’s.
Read the full story at the New York Post.
