To quote that nice jewish carpenter, "Again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
It's interesting to see the conservative christians on the side of the credit cards considering how the lending of money with interest is/was decidedly unchristian. I'll have to dig up the dates and the basis of not lending with interest, but one of the grounds for the stereotype relating to the rich jewish banker is that during the middle ages they were the only ones that lent money with interest and so made more money then christian banks. Under sharia law, it is the bank's responsibility NOT to lend you money if you have no way of repaying it. And interest is haram, not allowed in islamic baking. At some point the banks and credit cards people have to realize that just granting credit to everyone isn't really a moral or viable business model. Right about now americans are struggeling with so much debt that the credit companies are literaly cannabalizing the market to keep up their growth. And with savings at an all time low, it just isn't the way forward. I miss the days when your bank gave you sound finacial advice, like save 10% of your pay and don't buy on credit. But then again, I also miss the days when you got 5.25% interest on you savings account; and those days will never be seen again.
"A love of money is the root of all evil", a different jar of pickles. The thing about someone declaring themselves bankrupt, it's not just major lenders who suffer the consequences. In fact they're often first in the queue for any assets available. The bankruptee will usually owe for goods and services provided by other small businesses. Like suicide, it's a way of walking away from your problems, but it leaves others to deal with the consequences.
