I’ve long since thought that America was spiraling down into a world in which it is buried in debt. With the current debt at 12 trillion dollars, and now with the current state of these financial institutions, I don’t know if Americans have yet to learn their lesson. People who went and borrowed money and didn’t have sufficient funds to pay off their mortgage, the greedy companies who thought it was a good idea not to credit check in hopes that the housing market would continue to go up, I don’t think we should be bailing them out. I’m glad that Lehman Brothers was not bailed out. It’s a mistake. These people need to learn the consequences. They made the mistake, and I don’t believe American taxpayers should have to pay for the mistakes of lenders and borrowers.

When will Americans learn never to spend money they don’t have? The credit culture in America, though by all accounts was a good idea in the beginning, has created nothing but a disaster. Nothing about it has been positive. Swiping that plastic is much easier than handing cash. Cash = something real, solid, real money in one’s hand. Credit = pure plastic, fake money, debut money. It is said that most families have an average debt of $8,000.

The number of people who live paycheck to paycheck is apalling. Using their credit card to pay for something they don’t have in their bank account baffles my mind. It’s no wonder that the United States government has turned out the way it has. $12 trillion DEBT. We owe so many countries money. One day, they’ll stop buying U.S. bonds and then what?

I don’t know what people can do really, what solutions there are. I know a start would be to cut up those credit cards, and to stop spending as though there seems to be a money tree in our homes. Minimize, minimize, minimize. Find other forms of entertainment – volunteer, spend more time in the kids, go out for a hike, a walk.  I’m hoping though, that this rush of affluenza and the love affair with credit cards in this country will stop. Maybe this is the wake-up call that everyone needs. If it’s not, I don’t know what kind of state the country has to be in before someone decides to change their spending habits and their lifestyle.