For Immediate Release
November 30, 2005
Contact: Kate Incontrera, (410) 454-0417 or kincontrera@dailyreckoning.com
www.dailyreckoning.com: Consumer's Rising Confidence Built on False Hopes Baltimore, MD - With gas prices down 40 cents this month, the job outlook improving and annual U.S. GDP growth up a higher-than-expected 4.3%, it's easy to understand why consumer confidence is on the rise. But one best-selling author warns that Americans are overlooking serious problems - and are really suffering from a dangerous case of overconfidence. "Americans have a habit of thinking only in the short term," says Addison Wiggin, author of Empire of Debt, co-written with Bill Bonner. "But if you look at the medium to long term, you quickly see there's nothing to be confident about." In Empire of Debt, Wiggin and Bonner paint a bleak picture of the American economy today. Americans keep going deeper and deeper into debt with no regard for the future. For example, 37% of American households do not have a retirement savings account of any kind. Meanwhile, the amount of household credit debt has soared from $6.1 trillion to $10.8 trillion in just five years. "That means GDP is rising only because people are going deeper in debt," Wiggin says. "But we can't keep living like this. Eventually, all the bills must be paid back." Hoping to bring attention to this growing problem, Wiggin and Bonner have sent copies of their book to President Bush, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan and all members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The pair also hopes more Americans will get the message, too. "If people don't take action to protect themselves now," Wiggin warns, "they will find themselves with a pile of bills and no way to pay them. Good luck measuring consumer confidence when that happens." Brought to you by Agora Financial, and written by New York Times best-selling authors Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, The Daily Reckoning is a daily free e-letter that weaves information about the financial world, investing and everyday life into an educational and entertaining format that has been engaging readers for over six years. For more information from Addison Wiggin, see www.dailyreckoning.com. Source: www.dailyreckoning.com | 
