Debt Culture

David Brooks had a very informative piece about the growing debt culture in America, from lottery tickets to credit cards. I'm very glad to see someone addressing the issue that so many Americans are falling into greater and greater debt. There are serious consequences. I first learned about debt from playing SimCity2000 as a kid and going way into debt and being kicked out of my mayor's office (aka losing the game). After that, I almost never took out a loan in that game ever again, and frankly, I've been very cautious about loans ever since. Brooks makes several good points about how our government has facilitated this transfer to debt culture, and some of the causes. Here is one excerpt:
Second, the transformation has led to a stark financial polarization. On the one hand, there is what the report calls the investor class. It has tax-deferred savings plans, as well as an army of financial advisers. On the other hand, there is the lottery class, people with little access to 401(k)’s or financial planning but plenty of access to payday lenders, credit cards and lottery agents.