We all are addicted to something…..drugs, cigs, sex, whiskey and so on……but we Americans have an addiction to……consumerism.  A couple of years ago I wrote a piece entitle “The Real Opiate Of The Masses”…..when I pointed out that Americans were drowning in debt and even with the crash of ’08 nothing would change……we will buy way beyond our means……and guess what?

(Newser) – More than a third of Americans with credit scores have debt “in collections”—meaning one in three of us has been reported to collection agencies, a study finds. That’s a total of 77 million people whose non-mortgage debt is significantly overdue, the Urban Institute notes. The study includes debts ranging from credit card and medical bills to parking tickets, CNNMoney notes. And the widespread issue “can tip employers’ hiring decisions, or whether or not you get that apartment,” an analyst tells the AP.

The average debt is $5,178, the AP notes. The problem exists all over the country, but Southern and Western states are facing the most trouble. Among the report’s findings:

• Nevada has the highest percentage of people with debt in collections: 47%. In Las Vegas, the figure is 49%. North Dakota has the lowest at 19%, CNNMoney reports.
• The average amount owed is also highest in Nevada at $7,198. Washington, DC, has the lowest figure at $3,547.
• At 51%, McAllen, Texas, has the highest percentage of affected people among the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. At least 43% of people in Houston, Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio have debt in collections. Minneapolis-St. Paul has the lowest percentage among the 100 biggest metropolitan areas, with 20%.

The complete study is here.

The scary part is that NOTHING will change……this addiction is like any other addiction….eventually it will kill the individual….in every sense of the word….KILL!