Personal savings rates collapsed, and credit and mortgage debt soared, as households attempted to keep pace with the consumption norms of the wealthy. For quite some time, growing income inequality did not slow consumption growth; indeed, “trickle-down consumption” pressures fostered more consumer spending, more debt, more bankruptcy, and more financial stress among middle- and lower-income households.
由于这些家庭努力与富有家庭的消费标准保持同步，导致个人储蓄率急跌，而信贷和抵押贷款负债高涨。在相当一段时间中，不断扩大的收入失衡现象并未拉低消费的增长；事实上，“跟风消费”的压力孕育了更多的消费者支出，更多的借贷，更多的破产，以及中等和低收入家庭越来越大的财务压力。。