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Credit Thesis
- 3. Almost any manknows how to earn money, but not one in a million knows how to spend it. -Henry David Thoreau
- 4. Today’s Discussion •Hypothesis •American Dream •Current Events •Lessons Learned •Relationships •Psychology •Habits •Recommendations
- 5. Hypothesis Anincreasing access to credit has also increased our reluctance to talk about it.
- 7.
- 8. Bob Larry
- 9. Methodology Survey (>100 Books respondents) Newspaper/ One-on-one Magazine/Online Interviews Articles Journals Blogs
- 10. The American Dream Westand at once the wonder and admiration of the whole world, and we must enquire what it is that has given us so much prosperity, and we shall understand that to give up that one thing, would be to give up all future prosperity. This cause is that every man can make himself. -Abraham Lincoln, 1856
- 11. The American Dream -AmericanDreams have usually been a lien against future -Longstanding American willingness to get ahead by getting into debt -Americans have an innate optimism
- 12. The American Dream -Alludesto self-fulfillment, better life, freedom -Also means to that end: house with white picket fence, car, etc. -Since 1920s pursuit of that life has been through consumer credit
- 13. Current Events Money alonesets all the world in motion. -Publilius Syrus (~100 BC), Maxims
- 14. Current Events -1 in3 chance that economy will be worse than the recessions in 2001 and 1991 -2/3 of health of economy measured by consumer spending
- 16.
- 17. Irresponsible Credit User Lenders
- 18. Irresponsible Credit User Lenders Wall Street
- 19. Irresponsible Credit User Lenders Wall Street
- 20. Irresponsible Credit User Lenders Wall Street Responsible Credit User
- 21. Current Events - 75%increase in CC holders between 1990-2004 -Amount charged in that period grew by 350% -Most people will keep using credit cards regardless of current economy
- 22. Lessons Learned The easiestway for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any. -Katharine Whitehorn
- 23. Lessons Learned -Usually parentsteach by giving an allowance or spending money -Little financial education - Most kids grow up imitating parents’ relationship with money
- 26. Relationships I don't caretoo much for money, money can't buy me love. -The Beatles, 1964
- 27. Relationships “I was raised to think of money as being a private affair. I never knew how much money my parents made. It wasn’t something that was acceptable to talk about.” -Debbie, 50
- 28. Relationships “It makes me really uncomfortable to hear people talking about their money problems, especially co-workers whom I don’t know that well. I immediately want to walk away from the conversation.” -Cindy, 29
- 29. Relationships "It's pretty common to find out that the person you married has more debt and less income than you realized. Essentially they had other relationships with money going on that you didn't know about. The opportunity to feel betrayed is huge." -Scott Stanley, Ph.D., University of Denver and coauthor of You Paid How Much for That? How to Win at Money Without Losing at Love.
- 30. Psychology Money: There's nothingin the world so demoralizing as money. -Sophocles, 442 BC, Antigone
- 31. Psychology -People feeling sadspend more money to acquire the same commodities than those in a neutral emotional state -Borrowing money activates “reward” part of brain -Exposure to the concept of money elevates a sense of self-sufficiency
- 32. Habits Whoever said moneycan’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to shop. -Bo Derek
- 33. Habits -The typical family'scredit card balance is now almost 5% of their annual income (median U.S. household income of $43,200.)* -Average personal savings rate in the U.S., which, after reaching a peak of $2,285 in 1984, dropped below zero with an average negative $322 in 2006. * Source: Federal Reserve
- 34. Habits “Althoughmy husband and I don’t ENJOY being broke, we’re a lot more accustomed to the experience of lack, debt, and financial strife than we are with the experience of wealth, abundance, and financial prosperity. Therefore, I believe that we have invited and created our present situation. “ -Beth, 37
- 35. Habits "I reclaimed an old Bohemian identity that I'd always been comfortable with. I stopped thinking of myself as a consumer and started thinking of myself as a citizen." -Judith Levine, author of Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping
- 36. Habits “This isa time for action when it comes to people taking responsibility for their personal finances. This is just the motivation I needed. It's forced me to look at things differently.” -Sharon, 30
- 37. Recommendations Allof us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level. -William Bernbach
- 38. If You GiveIt To People, They’ll Take It
- 39. If You GiveIt To People, They’ll Take It
- 40. If You GiveIt To People, They’ll Take It
- 41. Become Conscious Spenders
- 42. We Need ToStart Talking About It
- 43. Money, of course,is never just money. It's always something else, and it's always something more, and it always has the last word. -Paul Auster
- 44. Money, of course,is never just money. It's always something else, and it's always something more, and it always has the last word. -Paul Auster
- 46. Psychology -Chronic self-doubters look to things to impress people or express how well they’re doing in life* -People pay more attention to price tags than real value -78% of Americans see money as the # 1 stressor on their lives* *American Psychological Association *Study by Robert Arkin, Ph.D., of Ohio State University
Editor's Notes
- #3 I’m here to talk about money. I know it’s a very sensitive personal topic, but hopefully we can all get through it with few injuries. As you could see from the clip I just showed from the movie Maxed Out, money and our country's reliance on credit has long been a topic in the news. Unfortunately, we are rarely taking this conversation from the news into our homes.
- #6 How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
- #7 How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
- #8 How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
- #9 How did I come up with this topic? I read a letter to the editor from this man- I’ll call him Bob- and he was upset that he had bought a house a few years ago and he made sure he was buying something he could actually afford and make payments on. And he was mad that someone/subprime borrower, like Larry, had purchased more house than he could afford, and now there was talk about him being bailed out by the government. Bob didn’t think that was fair. People like Larry abused the system and now they’re being bailed out and they’re not even going to learn something from the situation, and they'll probably do the same thing again. Is there a reason people like Larry are betting against their future by borrowing more money than they can afford to pay back?
- #11 When I first started talking about this topic, and Bob and Larry, I thought I would be looking at the past 10 years or so, just studying this recent housing boom. Then I read somewhere that credit had been deregulated in 1978, so I thought, ok, I'll be talking about the last 30 years, then I found this book called Financing the American Dream and it put forth this idea that our whole country was founded on credit. I realized it went back farther than I had even realized.
- #12 Our entire country was founded on a faith in our future. our founding fathers came over taking a risk that that gamble would pay off. and there's a longstanding willingness of Americans to get ahead by using credit. Having said that, consumer debt has also become more acceptable as it's become more prevalent. Americans have an innate optimism and believe that if they want something they can achieve that.
- #13 To many people, the american dream is about self-fulfillment, freedom, a better life, security. unfortunately part of the american dream has been subverted into the things that you need to symbolize that you've made it and achieved the american dream. like the white picket fence, car, etc. since the 1920s the pursuit of the american dream has been through consumer credit
- #14 As many of you probably know, the real estate crash and subprime mortgage market are both huge topics in the news right now. The deepening house recession is taking a toll on the overall economy. Not only is is affecting consumers, but, of course, it’s affecting companies as well. U.S. car sales are down almost 5% from last year. Proctor and Gamble is raising prices by 4-8% in the next few months to offset rising costs.
- #15 there’s a 1 in 3 chance that what seems to now be a definite recession will be worse than the recessions in 2001 and 1991. (because real estate and credit are involved) But during those recessions people mostly used credit cards for discretionary purchases. Now we use our credit cards on everything from groceries to gas. 2/3 of our economy depends on consumer spending. But unfortunately for consumers, the health of our country is measured by how much we spend. As you saw from the beginning clip when President Reagan was encouraging people to keep spending, our government wants us to keep spending in order to keep the economy healthy. And if you look at the way our government deals with its own debt, It's easy to see that we've been acting on cue for the economy, to the point that we've kept spending well beyond our means.
- #16 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #17 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #18 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #19 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #20 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #21 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #22 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #23 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #24 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #25 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #26 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #27 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #28 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #29 Let’s go back to Larry for a second. Subprime lender, like Larry, who defaults on his mortgage affects his lender and Wall Street which lent money without thinking of the consequences. Homeowners took out mortgages to buy houses they couldn't afford. Wall Street then borrowed money to essentially buy up those mortgages, betting leverage would spur bigger returns. It affects a Bank of America which recently bought Coutnrywide. BofA turned around and recently raised their credit card rates for some cardholders- suspected of doing it to offset future debt- both caused by the economy and the fact that they just bought countrywide. It is also affecting student lending agencies like Sallie Mae which doesn’t have as much available money to lend out for student loans. Sallie Mae is raising student loan rates by .5-1% which could lead to many students being unable to fund their education. this affects me, or Bob, who has credit cards with BofA and also purchased a home i could afford.
- #30 From 1990-2004 the number of people holding credit cards rose 75% the amount that was charged in that period grew 350% to 1.5 trillion dollars. Credit card balances went from $2500 in 1990 to about $7500 in 2003. 1999 was the first time that that U.S. households started spending more than they took in. americans unaccustomed to recessions, especially ones where they have to spend less. both the past two recessions had very minor slowdowns in consumer spending. most people will keep using credit cards regardless of how the current economy is- which is extremely dangerous
- #31 To try to understand how we wound up in the situation we did with our spending, i thought i’d look into how we learned money lessons. And what did we learn from our parents?
- #32 The fact remains that people do not grow up with educational or philosophic conversations about what money is and isn't, what it can and can't do. Information-based money discussions are so taboo that we usually reach adulthood without a realistic sense of our family's finances. As a result of the money taboo,most kids grow up imitating their parents' way of handling money without being aware of it. people who rate their parents high on financially responsible have more of these habits themselves
- #33 Most parents don't teach their children about finances. But here's an extreme example. Cliff Huxtable is an extreme example. As I've said, most parents don't discuss money with their children, and that's often because no one taught them. and therefore money habits such as spending habits and sloppy money management are taught early in life by seeing our parents' example. By the time we reach early adulthood those habits are ingrained.
- #34 Because money isn't discussed in the home, part of the credit crunch problem is that people are uneasy talking about money. Often we don’t talk about it b/c of shame over our own financial habits. the more troublle some people get into with their money, the more shame and secretive they become. But also, a lot of people consider debt and financial habits a private affair.
- #36 So, fine, Debbie and Cindy are uncomfortable talking about money with their parents or co-workers. But what happens when people get married. Unfortunately, a lot of people get married without having a conversation about their finances. More than any other issue, $ is what breaks up marriages.
- #37 In addition, because the age at which people wed is rising, partners bring extensive monetary histories to their union. Many individuals enter marriage with undisclosed financial allegiances outside the relationship. Given the avoidance, accessibility and ambivalence that now swirl around about money, it's creating an explosive new dynamic in relationships. 67 percent of women, 74 percent of men—enter marriage with at least some debt. Of those with debt, about half owe more than $5,000, primarily from auto loans, credit cards, student loans and medical bills, research associate David Schramm of Utah State University found in a study of 1,010 newlyweds
- #38 Money represents more than just money, it represents love, self-worth, power, security, dependence, freedom.
- #39 Study done that shows that people feeling sad and self-focused spend more $ to acquire commodities than those in a natural emotional state. They have heightened self-focus. When we borrow money, the reward portion of the brain is activated. We don't think of the fact that we have to pay the money back at some point, we just think about the money we have now. When you borrow money, you are thinking not about the long-term consequences but the short-term result: You have more cash in your pocket. The pain you are going to experience down the road of having to pay -- that's in the future, it's remote, it's abstract." self-sufficiency- example if you're poor and you're moving you might ask your friends to help you, if you have $ you don't think you need anyone and might just hire movers. we think we don't need others.
- #40 -Keeping secrets about money have never been easier -Fiscal self-control has never been harder Keeping secrets about money is not only tempting in our cultural carnival of consumption, it's also on the rise. The ability to spend and borrow money impulsively has never been greater, with ubiquitous ATMs, Internet banking and online shopping, to say nothing of refinancing deals and new credit card offers arriving almost daily in the mail. Consumer debt, excluding mortgages, has doubled in the past decade. It now averages close to $20,000 per household.
- #41 household debt is almost 5% of a typical family's household income. not only are we charging so much of our income, we've stopped saving and in fact, are saving a negative amount of money, -322 dollars in 2006
- #42 people in all socio-economic levels are trapped in self-destructive behaviors. This woman, Beth, started a blog to discuss her attempts to avoid bankruptcy with her husband. As you can see, she talks about how she and her husband are more used to being in debt than experiencing prosperity. Her money problems became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- #43 Judith Levine wrote this book and purchased nothing but necessities for a year, saved $8,000, was sometimes bored and lonely but also felt liberated and found other things to occupy her time with.
- #44 Sharon used to take 4 vacations a year and eat out almost every year. With the current economic situation, she's realized that she was out of control, and looks at it as a motivation to rearrange her priorities and straighten out her life.
- #45 We talk a lot about how our jobs as marketers aren't just to sell things, but to give people choices and to shape society. And consumer credit plays a large role in determining nature of consumer culture & sustaining it over time.
- #46 The more credit that is available to people, the more they're going to take it. I was thinking of it in terms of Halloween candy. If you let your kid eat his candy that night without reigning him in, he'll eat until he gets sick. 1)more restrictive countries are in better shape than countries with more open regulations. france- attitude toward debt-catholic thing-bad. The issue is more pressing in Europe and the United States, as many Asian economies are experiencing robust growth and indebtedness tends to be lower, often because of the stronger role of the family and a more prudent financial tradition.
- #47 The more credit that is available to people, the more they're going to take it. I was thinking of it in terms of Halloween candy. If you let your kid eat his candy that night without reigning him in, he'll eat until he gets sick. 1)more restrictive countries are in better shape than countries with more open regulations. france- attitude toward debt-catholic thing-bad. The issue is more pressing in Europe and the United States, as many Asian economies are experiencing robust growth and indebtedness tends to be lower, often because of the stronger role of the family and a more prudent financial tradition.