But debt itself is not a root cause, is it? At the very core is a word none of us really want to have associated with ourselves. We just want what we want, don't we? As a rule, we're just... greedy. Credit card companies give increased credit limits to people who have high balances simply because they have reliably made their monthly often minimum payments. Translation: "Let's milk them for as much as we can." At the same time, we ourselves apparently find it nearly impossible to tell ourselves no. At the end of the day, our money goes farther when we're not being charged a ton of interest on what we buy. Paying with cash is clearly the way to go if you want to maximize your spending potential. If we could just learn to live without debt, we'd have more and and could do more! Unfortunately, we want what we want right now and are unwilling to wait. We are only focused on right now and the object of our desire, giving no thought to how we're affecting our financial future. Some of us know that we're doing a bad thing to ourselves similar to the smoker who lights up his next cigarette. He knows it's killing him by now, but he can't stop it. This spending addiction (ie. greed) is in fact the root, and there is no magic answer for it. Each person must deal with it themselves and learn how to behave responsibly not only for their own good but for the good of our struggling economy.

If so many people cannot spend because the load from their debt is too great, how do we move forward as a nation? Some have suggested that we employ a model of periodic debt forgiveness to get the economy going again. But isn't that what bankruptcy is? The option is already available. If our core issue could be summed up as a lack of personal responsibility, a pattern of periodic debt absolvement would only make that worse. At some point we must recognize that the acquisition of debt is the last thing that should go unregulated. I know regulating anything is not popular with many. We all want to be free, and we get irritated when someone takes away our options. Still, I do think that there should be some regulation that prevents someone who has filed for bankruptcy from having a total credit line higher than 10-20% of their monthly income. If you have filed bankruptcy in the past, your options with regard to credit should be severely limited for some lengthy period of time. It should not be left up to the creditor, who is more than happy to put this poor confused person right back in the same predicament. I would support a system where your credit limit is based on your average monthly income and the amount of money you have in savings. Should you really be able to have a credit limit that is higher than what you could pay off in a month? This is why people feel so trapped.

As individuals, we simply don't know how to budget properly and we end up hurting ourselves. So many are in that predicament that now the nation as a whole is suffering. No one can force someone else to deal with the problem that creates the debt. But we can provide guardrails that protects the U.S. economy from going in the ditch. I certainly do not believe that we can sit by and do nothing. I have no confidence that most Americans will suddenly begin to use credit effectively. It certainly is true that many of us need to completely swear off credit cards, and possibly even debt in general. If I have a pattern of stabbing myself in the eye with a screwdriver, the problem is clearly not the screwdriver. Still, it's clear that I shouldn't have one. But, I don't believe it's enough to chastise each other, say "Now don't do that...", and move on as if the problem is solved. At this point, I believe some sort of guardrail is a must. I sincerely hope that our government officials can learn this lesson and implement what is needed to protect our economy. What if we coupled that with a one-time only debt forgiveness decree? Now that would kickstart the economy!! Forgiving the debt would open up the flood gates of spending and the guardrails would prevent us from ending up right back in the same mess. The sooner we are able to do that the sooner we'll actually start to see real recovery in America's economy.