Blame the government? Blame the banks? Or should we blame ourselves? This is a question I’m pondering as I’m debating people on several sites over Obama forcing certain regulations on credit card companies. The legislation would basically restrict card companies' ability to raise interest rates and impose late fees. Now what bugs me about this is not that he is digging into private business again which is not good for the free market but let’s face it if you use a card expecting to pay one rate then with no notice it gets jacked up that’s just not fair at all. No, what really bugs me is he is continuing to push this same consumerist mentality that we have been sold by not only our government but the media and entertainment industries also.

How much Chinese made crap do we really need? How many cell phones do we have to buy in a five year period? How many cars? How many computers? Jewelry? I mean seriously I really feel like if I’m not out buying crap I don’t need that somehow I am just un-American. Am I the only one who feels this way? When and why did this mentality come to be? On top of this a lot of this crap that “I have to have” and I buy I don’t even really use or “play with” after 6 months or so.

Now not only do most Americans buy crap they really don’t need but many are going into debt to do it. There was a time in society that it was not thought to highly of to go into debt. Going into debt for unnecessary crap was REALLY “un cool”. Let’s face it this last bubble we just went through many were getting credit cards to buy crap, refinancing your house to buy crap, pulling out lines of credit to buy crap and we did it and didn’t even blink while doing it. If we saw our neighbors buy a new TV we had to go get a new TV. even if this meant going and getting into debt to do it.

So why am I ranting on this? I think most Americans feel that the best years of our country was probably the mid 20th century. Those were the days you could trust people and do business on a handshake without worrying about getting the shaft. I think one thing that most of us can agree on is that one of the big problems with our country and society today is greed. We have seen it not only in the financial sector but many sectors. People will screw whoever for whatever and do it in the name of “Capitalism” This is not Capitalism this is greed and people need to understand this. The root to this greed is this consumerist mentality most of us have. We have to have this crap surrounding us and if our neighbor gets new crap we have to have newer crap. Why take your kids to the park when you can take them shopping right? So to get this newer crap we will do whatever it takes, screw whoever it takes, and gouge whoever it takes so we have the money to feed this mentality.

Is it a coincidence that a majority of Americans have this mentality? No, not at all, in fact after 9/11 instead of telling the people to sacrifice for the good of the nation our government told us to go out and shop. Everywhere we look in ads, billboards, TV, we see this mentality being pushed to the extremes. Even Obama indirectly says shopping is good and don’t worry “the government will protect you”. You know what maybe we need to protect ourselves. Maybe as a society we need to take a hard look in the mirror and a hard look around the house and ask ourselves do we really need this much crap? I don’t even care if don’t have to go into debt doing it do you really need it? I think if anything should be learned from this “crisis” and blatant theft of taxpayer dollars is we need to go back to our thrifty more conservative roots. Maybe instead of going and getting a loan for a $30,000 car maybe you should pay in cash for a used $5,000 car and if you don’t have the cash to do that then why the hell are you getting a loan for a $30,000 car? Maybe instead of going out and buying that new cell phone because your friend has one maybe you should hang on to yours for another year or two. I think if we all took this approach I think America as a society will be better off and any educated person knows that it shows real character to go against the status quo.

"I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one." --Thomas Jefferson to M. Correa de Serra, 1814.

If the banks asked me beforehand if they could provide credit for sometimes more than 8 times as much money as they actually had available (e.g. existed), I would've simply said "no". In fact, if the bank managers asked themselves they probably would've declined - but it's the Bank as a Company that requires them to take risks and try to increase profit. The free market allows the banks to shape it, and the banks want a very voluptuous shape.. And then we end up with a corrupt system.

Of course it really is our fault, because we are all of us, and we hardly can blame nature on this one. The question is whether it's truly something we caused as a collective, or simply a by-product of capitalism. Obviously our system was corrupt in the way that there was more money 'out there' than could actually be paid up. This isn't the first time that that happened, and it sure as hell won't be the last. It may seem easy to create a stable system, but the problem is that our capitalism works on loans - the lending of money is actually profitable for banks. Since many conceive banks to be the 'heart of the economy', there is an enormous drive to make way for the banks to make more profit, as much as they can without completely overthrowing the balance. This hasn't worked out, really - whenever there is a (small or large) recession, we're told to reinforce it by spending money, which we get from the banks. This works temporarily, building up the economy - and crashing down when it hits the breakpoint. As a society, we have yet to find the right balance and/or process to find this balance.

So really, we just need to think of a better way to make things work.. I'd personally say, don't create money that doesn't exist - but since money became legal tender, there is no real static amount of money, so it's all a bit cloudy to me. Definitely not let banks lend 8 times their share..

P.S. I'm talking about the western economy, not just America.. it's pretty much the same in Europe.

OP... Do you test your own water? How do you know that there aren't harmful things in it? Not traces but all sorts of disease-causing organisms and the like. Because a long time ago your community --- and you by extension --- entered into a contract with your local government whereby you would pay taxes and they (among other things) would monitor the quality of your water.

So what if you suddenly become seriously ill and the cuase is directly related to bad water? You then come to find out that your local government has been derelict in their responsibility to uphold their half of the contract.

Thta, in my opinion, is at the root of this issue. The federal governmnet took on the responsibility and authority to regulate and monitor the banking industry. They allowed certain protective regulations to be abolished and then failed (abysmally) to exact any sort of reasonable oversight. And everything went down the tubes.

yea, to a degree we ARE repsonsible but the Federal government had an obligation to protect the banking system when they took on the authority to do so. They were derelict ion their duty.

Imagine if I offered to loan you $100, and said: "Hey, I'm going to loan you $100. I'll charge you 3% interest per month. Except I can change that rate at any time to whatever I want. And I can add any other terms or conditions I want, at any time. If you don't like it, tough, sue me hahaha."

Would you agree? Yet that is exactly what Americans do when they agree to credit card contracts. It seems no one reads the fine print, because that's pretty much exactly what the fine print says.

That's the real problem. The proliferation of practically deceptive contracts that businesses consider legally valid, even when there's been no meeting of the minds. And a public and political system that plays along with the exploitative charade, with only occasional outraged squeals and half-hearted stopgap legislation.

Who is to blame for that?

How much Chinese made crap do we really need? How many cell phones do we have to buy in a five year period? How many cars? How many computers? Jewelry? I mean seriously I really feel like if I’m not out buying crap I don’t need that somehow I am just un-American.

Don't blame me. I never had a cell phone in my life and i've had the same car for 9 years and the same computer for 5 and the same $6 watch for 3. I'm not one of these idiot americans who cares about status symbols.