Debt addiction and the age of ‘financial decadence’

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It’s tempting to view the current housing mess as an issue involving mainly, well, housing. You know, curb appeal, master bedrooms, granite counters, renovated kitchens, etc.

The underlying story, though, is not housing. It’s debt. This is a debt crisis, brought about in part by the twisted notion that debt is the road to wealth. And it’s not just mortgages: It’s credit cards, car loans and growing government debts. A regular reader reminded me of that when he posted this David Brooks column on another website. I highly recommend it.

Highlight: ‘The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal.’

More: ‘Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about how to use and harness money.’

This is troubling stuff, folks. And there’s no indication of any political will to do anything about it. The government’s idea of financial education is letting credit card companies coach Americans on how to manage debt -- not how to avoid it. Americans need to save more -- particularly for their unfunded retirements -- and spend less. We all know that. There’s no will to make it happen.

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