‘Bidenomics’: Americans Racked Up Record Credit Card Debt Since 2023
Another key indicator highlighting the struggles of Joe Biden’s presidency emerged on Friday.
As reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans' credit card debt continues to climb, reaching $1.21 trillion by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, according to the Washington Times.
This marks a $45 billion jump from the third quarter of 2024 and an $82 billion (7.3%) increase year-over-year, based on data from the New York Federal Reserve.
Credit card debt first exceeded the trillion-dollar mark in 2023. With more than 600 million active accounts, credit card loans remain the most widespread form of consumer debt.
“Stubborn inflation has shrunk a lot of Americans’ financial margin for error from slim to about none, forcing people to lean more heavily on credit card debt,” Lending Tree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz told CNBC.
Credit cards are among the most expensive borrowing options, with new card interest rates surpassing 20% on average, CNBC noted.
In total, American debt exceeds $18 trillion, the New York Federal Reserve reported Thursday. This includes $12.6 trillion in mortgage debt, $1.65 trillion in auto loans, $1.61 trillion in student loans, and $1.21 trillion in credit card balances. Additional debt comes from home equity lines of credit and other borrowing sources.
Among these, mortgage debt saw the largest annual increase. While it rose by $11 billion from the third quarter of 2024, the year-over-year surge reached $353 billion by the end of 2024’s fourth quarter.
Delinquency rates remain a significant issue. In the last quarter of 2024, over 7% of all U.S. credit card debt became seriously delinquent, meaning payments were overdue by 90 days or more. Additionally, roughly 1.09% of mortgage debt and nearly 3% of auto loan debt reached serious delinquency levels during the same period, per the Times.
The Federal Reserve Bank’s report further stated that over 10% of all U.S. credit card debt and almost 5% of mortgage debt are seriously delinquent. Furthermore, approximately 3.6% of all American debt is overdue, including both debts under and over 90 days late.
Economic hardship was the primary factor that propelled Donald Trump back to the White House last year. Despite inflation easing slightly from record highs under Biden-Harris, it remained significantly above average. Costs for groceries, fuel, utilities, interest rates, and insurance premiums all surged under their administration.
To counteract these economic setbacks, Trump must work to reverse the Biden-Harris trend of prolonged inflation. However, success will require cooperation from the GOP-led Congress, which has yet to act swiftly enough on his economic agenda, according to a prominent Republican figure.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently appeared on Fox Business’ “Kudlow,” where he told host Larry Kudlow that “there’s a lot at stake” in 2026 if Republicans fail to advance Trump’s plans for tax cuts and economic incentives.
“Almost guarantee losing the Republican House next year and ruining the last two years of President Trump’s term with Hakeem Jeffries playing the Nancy Pelosi role, investigations, blocking programs, potential impeachments,” Gingrich warned.
“I mean, there’s a lot at stake here, and it frankly mystifies me as to how House and Senate Republicans can’t understand you’ve got to plan back from victory,” he added.
Gingrich emphasized the importance of securing legislative wins on key issues like tax reductions, deregulation, and energy affordability by June.
“The victory here is winning in November of 2026. That requires a very strong economy. That requires a very strong tax cut deregulation, a pro energy affordability bill, certainly no later than May or June. And I cannot understand these guys, you know, I lived through it,” he said.
He also cited historical lessons from past midterm elections, warning of potential losses if legislative action is delayed.
“Reagan lost 26 seats in the first off-year election because his tax cuts didn’t go into effect until 1983. Trump lost 42 seats in his first off-year election because the tax bill didn’t pass until October,” Gingrich explained. “When I hear senators saying cavalierly, ‘Oh, we’ll pass the easy bill early, and we’ll get around to the other bill by October.’ They’re talking about killing the chances of keeping the House Republican.”