2  Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776, p. 687. 3  Ibid., p. 26-27. 4  Ibid., p. 456. 5  Ibid., p. 10.
Meanwhile, the personal bankruptcy rate, although relatively stable in recent quarters, is still near its record high. Despite these ominous sounding numbers, and while remaining alert to the possibility of more acute financial distress, I believe that, in the aggregate, households fundamentally are in good financial shape. Even with the heavy borrowing they have undertaken, households have kept their debt-payment burdens in check.