Higher Household Debt Primarily Means Fewer Foreclosures

The NYT badly misinterpreted data suggesting that household debt may soon be rising again. The NYT noted the fact that households may be taking on debt again on net and argued that this may presage an uptick in the economy. In fact, it suggest nothing of the sort.

At any point in time tens of millions of households are taking on new debt by buying homes, taking out student loans, borrowing against a credit or card or taking out other loans. At the same time, tens of millions of families are r...