The overall level of household indebtedness stood at 113% of disposable personal income in mid-2012 – down 21 percentage points from its pre-crisis peak of 134% in 2007, but still well above the 1970-1999 norm of around 75%. In other words, Americans have much farther to go on the road to balance-sheet repair – which hardly suggests a temporary, or cyclical, shortfall in consumer demand.
此外，债务积压状况依然十分严重。2012年年中，家庭负债总水平是可支配收入的113%，较2007年危机前的峰值水平134%下降了21个百分点，但仍远高于1970—1999年间的正常水平75%。换句话说，美国人在修复资产负债表的道路上还有极长的距离要走，这表明当前问题绝不是暂时性或周期性的消费需求短缺问题。