Who Is To Blame For America’s Debt Problem? |
America's debt problem is a combination of: overspending; not saving enough money; and depending upon the government for assistance.
Many Americans live well beyond their means with the aid of credit cards. Some credit cards don't even require one to list what one's annual income is in order to gain access to a credit card. Most people today are not using their credit lines to buy expensive furs, jewelry, fancy lobster dinners, evening black-tie soirees requiring Harry Winston diamonds on loan, or quick jaunts by private plane to Paris, France for a night on the town. Most people today are just using credit cards to get by with what they have. It is not that people are overspending to buy caviar; most are buying mac and cheese and stocking up their carts with instant noodle soup from giant retailers whose goods mainly come from China. People are using their credit cards to buy things they need–like food, water, and shelter. They are not making a lot of extravagant purchases, just the basics. And, these basics are putting Americans into a lot of debt because they make much less money while their bills pile up faster than they can handle.
As a result, this is putting many Americans in between a rock and a hard place. Of course, debt relief is one part of the solution but it's not all of it. Part of the problem is, that, of the little money people do have, they simply can't afford to save. By the time the phone, gas, water, electric, and grocery bills are paid–perhaps also if one throws in a mortgage payment (if applicable) as well as house or renter's insurance–there is very little to live on till the end of the month.
Another entity is to blame for the bloated debt problem in America: America's government. Yes, American government is putting people into debt. Fighting in at least two major wars, eight years of wild, out-of-control spending, and stonewalling by politicians on Capitol Hill has rendered our national deficit completely gargantuan. Government assistance takes on many forms of socialism. In itself, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, and student loans make the country's debt problem even larger than life. The U.S. owes a lot of money to China, which owns billions of dollars of America's debt.
Whether overspending, not saving, or relying on government assistance, Americans must start to save.
About the author: Finance Mansion
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