Political Mythology 101

Where do they come up with this stuff? Hot air balloon school?

Here's what John McCain said at a recent campaign stop in Denver. “American workers and families pay their bills and balance their budgets, and I will demand the same of the government."

Is that so?

Link to May 7, 2008, Bloomberg.com post, "U.S. Consumer Debt Rises More Than Forecast in March (Update2)".

Excerpt: U.S. consumer borrowing jumped more than double the amount economists forecast in March, indicating a slowing economy is forcing Americans to accumulate credit-card and other forms of debt.

Although the Milton Friedman adulation makes me a little nervous, Michael Hodges, publisher of the Grandfather Economic Report, notes that Americans are in debt to the tune of $175,154 per person.

And in related news, read about the Implode-a-Meter in today's New York Times.

Excerpt:
As millions of homeowners fall behind on their mortgages, a fledging Web site called the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter is gleefully tallying the number of lenders that run into trouble too. On Monday, the count was 265 — and rising.

With its tongue-in-cheek tone and running lists of the “imploded” and the merely “ailing,” the Implode-O-Meter has become a sort of Gawker of the subprime world. At a recent Mortgage Bankers Association conference, a speaker addressed what has become a hot topic among lenders: how to keep your company’s name off the site.