The headline should be "consumers trap themselves"
in cycle of debt. They are not victims, they chose
to incur the debt with the outlandish interest rates.

GREED. LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS.

Isn't that what you wanted in this capitalist society?

I mean these things also mean growth and good spending, accordin to you financiers, right?

So what's the big deal? As if you would teach people to stop spending and pay their bills properly? Nah.......

Allow me to paint you a picture: you had a job paying excellent money. Suddenly, as often happens, the company goes under, you lose your job, and now you take whatever comes available.
It's not paying nothing close to your old job, but it is work! now you still have daycare to pay and your car needs tires! What are you going to do? you are going to pay cash for the daycare, and buy the tires on your credit card!
This is life for millions of people across America everyday!

What about today's usorius interest rates. There was a time when 22 percent was unthinkable.. and now you have predatory lenders charging 90 percent or more.
Sure consumers need to deal smarter with their debt. But on the other hand since the Reagan administration "Corporate America" has been intent on short term profits, given up any semblence of being good citizens and is continually trying to turn the American workforce into a Third World workforce. Unfortunately, we have aided that by the choices we make in our leadership.

for someone whose husband passed the free trade agreement and did everything he could to give the US to china, should shut up.Her husband gave technology for the missle to hit us, and sent our jobs overseas.They're all a bunch of treasonist skunks, from reagan till the present.If their lips are moving, they are lying.

Did the person who wrote about the high paying job ever consider saving some of that high pay for a rainy day. The new tires would have been available and funded by the rainy day fund. DAH

Yes Its greed but not from the borrower.We have parrisitic lenders who are destroying the economy and the use of credit.I used to think it was just credit cards{I dont have any because of this}but not anymore.These same companies have gotten into the mortgage buisness too.I also blame our government too.They have let this go on instead of stopping it.

Think about this people. Big business in this country sets our people up for failure to start with. Once you establish credit, and make a few payments, in some instances one payment on time, here come the rest of the credit card offers. And for subprime mtg. market, shame on them all. I am a realtor for several years and have never let my customers get into that trap. They take the most unqualified, uncreditworthy people, and charge them the highest rates and closing costs, mainly which are all junk fee's to the lender and watch then watch them fail and do not care.

Big business also fought to change the bankruptcy law's and now are crying about it. They cut their own throats.
People could file bankruptcy very easy, then 2 years later resestablish credit and buy a home. Now that they passed the tougher bankruptcy laws, they vendors are feeling it...then they come out with the great idea of letting people with lousy credit piggyback on people with good credit. It all go's in a circle once again. Everyone needs to take a good long look at the whole picture and whatever happened to saving a few bucks anyway?