> IDK why everyone on HN thinks that the affluent have debt, when in fact, the bottom 50% of Americans hold less that 4% of wealth because most of them are in n

> IDK why everyone on HN thinks that the affluent have debt, when in fact, the bottom 50% of Americans hold less that 4% of wealth because most of them are in net debt, largely to entities owned by the affluent. The wealthiest people by definition have more equity than they do debt (which is why they are wealthy) but that doesn't mean that they don't hold debt. I think this is why most people think the affluent have debt obligations and frankly in the current markets there are incentives to have debt when real rates are this negative. Poorer people are also holding more debt, basically there's a lot more debt everywhere these days. Regarding the chart CPI is not the same as monetary inflation but yet CPI is frequently used to make inflation-adjusted securities. And since CPI does all sorts of intellectually dishonest mental gymnastics with regards to "hedonic adjustments" these days its a less reliable metric than it was in the past of how cost of living has changed over time: https://wolfstreet.com/2019/12/05/what-worries-me-about-hedonic-quality-adjustments-cpi/ https://wolfstreet.com/2019/12/05/what-worries-me-about-hedo...