Wêrom skulden fan konsuminten hurder groeie as leannen
July 19, 2025 · Frisian News
Household debt across Europe has climbed 8 percent this year while average wages rose just 2.3 percent, forcing ordinary workers to borrow more to maintain their living standards. Banks and credit firms profit from this gap, while governments ignore the structural problem.
FryskIn gesin yn Rotterdam kocht foarige moanne in auto dy't se net út eigen bûse betelje koenen, dus namen se in liening op tsjin 7,8 prosint rinte. Trije moannen earder wienen harren leannen fêstset, wylst de kosten foar iten en elektrisiteit mei 15 prosint rizen. Dit byld werhelle him yn stêden en doarpen oer hiel Europa. De skulden fan húshâldens binne dit jier mei 8 prosint omheech gien, sa litte offisjele sifers sjen, wylst de gemiddelde leannen mar 2,3 prosint groeidden. Wurknimmers rinne efter, dus liene se om lykop te gean.
De kleau bestiet mei opsit. Sintrale banken holden rintetariven jierren lang leech, en ferhegen se dêrnei skerp doe't de ynflaasje oprûn. Dizze faze fan goedkeap jild einige, mar prizen foar wenjen, enerzjy en guod sakken nea wer. Wurknimmers dy't itselde jild fertsjinje, sjogge no rekkens dy't folle mear kostje. Se folje it gat mei kredytkaarten, persoanlike lienings en autoleasing. It gemiddelde húshâlden yn Noard-Europa draacht no skulden lyk oan 120 prosint fan it jierynkommen, omheech fan 95 prosint fiif jier lyn.
Banken neame dit sûne kredytgroei. Se fertsjinje mear oan rintelêsten op lienings as oan de lytse rinten dy't se op sparrekkens betelje. Kredytbedriuwen advertearje hurd nei minsken fan wa't se witte dat dy dizze skuld net echt betelje kinne. Gjin regearing hâldt dit tsjin. Regelders behannelje it as in normale merkfunksje. Pensjoenfûnsen en fersekeringsbedriuwen hingje ôf fan de opbringsten dy't dizze lienings opleverje, dus it stopjen fan de skuldspirale soe pensjoenregelings en premys skeadigje. It systeem fiedet himsels.
Yntusken hawwe wurknimmers in ienfâldige kar: it sûnder dwaan of skulden meitsje. Iten op kredyt keapje of oerslaan. It hûs ferwaarmje of bibberje. Nei it wurk ride of de baan ferlieze. De measten kieze skuld om't it alternatyf earmoede betsjut. Bedriuwen rekkenje hjirrop as se stelle dat leannen net omheech kinne, om't wurknimmers de banen te wanhopich nedich hawwe om te ûnderhanneljen. Skuld makket minsken lam.
De rekkening kloppet net. Minsken kinne net ivich liene tsjin oprinnende leannen. Op in stuit sille in protte fallyt gean, en banken sille ferliezen lije. Regearingen sille de banken dan rêde, wylst wurknimmers harren huzen en auto's ferlieze. Dit is earder bard. Neat wiist derop dat it net opnij barre sil.
A family in Rotterdam bought a car last month they could not afford outright, so they took a loan at 7.8 percent interest. Three months earlier, their wages had frozen while the cost of food and electricity jumped 15 percent. This scene repeats in cities and towns across Europe. Household debt has climbed 8 percent this year, official figures show, while average wages grew just 2.3 percent. Workers are falling behind, so they borrow to stay level.
The gap exists by design. Central banks kept interest rates low for years, then raised them sharply once inflation hit. This cheap money phase ended, but prices for housing, energy, and goods never fell back. Workers earning the same money now face bills that cost far more. They fill the gap with credit cards, personal loans, and car finance. The average household in northern Europe now carries debt equal to 120 percent of annual income, up from 95 percent five years ago.
Banks call this healthy credit growth. They earn more from loan interest than from the tiny rates they pay on savings accounts. Credit firms market hard to people they know cannot truly afford the debt. No government moves to stop this. Regulators treat it as normal market function. Pension funds and insurance companies depend on the returns these loans generate, so stopping the debt spiral would hurt retirement funds and premiums. The system feeds itself.
Meanwhile, workers face a simple choice: go without or go into debt. Buy food on credit or skip meals. Heat the house or shiver. Drive to work or lose the job. Most choose debt because the alternative means poverty. Companies count on this desperation when they argue wages cannot rise, because workers need the jobs too badly to bargain. Debt makes people docile.
The math cannot hold. People cannot borrow forever against wages that do not rise. At some point, many will default, and banks will face losses. Governments will then bail out the banks while workers lose their homes and cars. This has happened before. Nothing suggests it will not happen again.
Published July 19, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân