[seadan83]

> Credit card debt and credit card balance aren’t the same thing, in practice.

In practice, but pedanticatically speaking they are the same. If I asked, how much credit card debt do you have, you shouldn't say zero just because you likely will pay off the balance before the grace period expires.

EG:What is the balance on your mortgage? How much mortgage debt do you have? (The latter implies across all mortgages. That is the extent to which there is a distinction)

Pedantics and straw-manning aside, the main point, supported by citations - is that most americans are not paying their credit cards off, in full, every month.