Are we finally getting smart about debt?
Jay Evensen
The free market doesn't monkey around with heart-to-heart talks or group sessions to deal with personal issues. Without the magic, a nation of princes and princesses wouldn't be able to afford that, anyway. As any true believer in the market knows, bad behavior, even if it succeeds for a time, eventually will be punished — often harshly.
Which brings me to some recent news reports. I had to blink a few times this week to make sure I was reading correctly. Credit-card companies are making it harder to borrow. Some Americans are learning how to (gasp!) pay cash for the things they want.
I had to check the date on those papers to make sure I hadn't passed through a wrinkle in time back to 1934.
But I knew that wasn't true. Back then, people used to laugh at a cartoon character named Wimpy who promised to pay next Tuesday for a hamburger today. These days, we might as well erect statues of Wimpy in our town squares.
Not too long ago, I thought about wallpapering my house with the credit-card offers I got in the mail. These included offers sent to my daughter when she was 11. Others received offers in the name of family pets.
As a nation, we've been sailing blithely along on the bright red rivers of debt for several years now, counting on the friendly ports of zero-interest balance transfers and the swift currents of ever-rising home prices to keep our boats moving. But that distant sound we once thought was the din of merchants touting shiny and glamorous new wares is coming into focus.
It's the sound of an approaching waterfall.
If we have any conscience at all, we will learn from this and teach the coming generation. Utah lawmakers right now are considering a bill, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Jones, D-Holladay, that would set up an enhanced financial literacy program in the state's public schools. Kids would learn about basic budgeting, banking, investing, home buying and borrowing in ways that are integrated with their normal curriculum.
Similar concerns in Wisconsin led one teacher to set up an after-school investment club. Students there learn all aspects of handling money, from tax liabilities to compound interest. A recent story about this in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted a state official as saying too many students spend their college years falling into debt, with little understanding of why it is bad.
Recent comments
Utah Republican,
'If we let the government keep more...
sky | Feb. 13, 2008 at 8:35 p.m.
High household bankruptcy rates are one more reason why we need a...
Utah Republican | Feb. 11, 2008 at 7:56 a.m.
I always enjoy Mr Evenson's columns although they are generally...
bushie | Feb. 10, 2008 at 9:21 p.m.
