Social Programming

Our society has programmed most of us to believe, debt is required to attain a goal.  Whether it's home ownership, an automobile, or even education, debt has become part of the equation.  This concept that the road to success is paved with debt is not a new concept at all.  The farms lost through the Great Depression were lost because there was a mortgage or lien against them.  Sadly most of those farms were inherited, so the land had been used as collateral.  By the time WWII ended, most all Americans could obtain debt for whatever their dream involved.

Probably the biggest issue I have had all along with large debt like mortgages and cars is the amount of money required to qualify for the debt.  I'm not against home mortgages and even short term car payments, but the idea that our net worth is based upon how much we can borrow, is problematic.  We've already seen that when the housing bubble burst.  Qualifying for debt seems to be the road to paying more for something than it will ever be worth, and that is a problem.  Figuring an amortization for a  mortgage is a great example of just how much we pay for something compared to it's actual value.  A 30 year mortgage on a $70,000 house, which is basically unheard of in today's culture would result in an individual paying nearly double the amount at only a 4% interest rate.  Interest rates are very low, which is why so many are able to qualify for huge loans with large down payments.  Fees and upfront costs have replaced interest rates for the banking industry.

I haven't been able to verify that this appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1934, but I haven't been able to find any source to say it didn't.

When an economy is based upon the perpetual motion of debt, history is doomed to repeat itself and where the blame falls really won't make any difference.  It will just be re-explained for acceptance and the programming will continue, if . . . the society doesn't completely crumble.