Credit cards to the rescue! pic: newsjunkiepost.com
Books can be written – and big ones at that – about the use and abuse of credit cards in this country. Before the 2008-09 big economic slump hit it was easier to sign up for a credit card then renewing your drivers license (a lot easier), faster than having a manicure and for many more frequent than taking a walk.
Back then, we must have gotten 10 letters every week trying to entice us to sign up for this or that credit card which we, of course, were already pre-approved for. Sometime the envelop contained checks that could be used immediately – so one could start spending against the new credit card without any delay. This way you could finally get rid off last year’s TV and buy that new one with the somewhat flatter screen and the 2 inches more in diameter.
This changed when people were unable to repay their TVs which – a year or so later – had pretty much lost all value due to larger and even flatter models but where still 95% unpaid for.
Now there is somewhat of a resurgence. Nothing like before but we do get solicitations regularly again. They now entice you with all sorts of stuff, the latest one, which I just saw today in an email from my son’s school. The spiel is: get the Target Red Card and a minuscule percentage of your purchases will be donated to the school.
So this is where we are at right now: schools are defunded by the State and Federal governments because we really can’t afford to give our children a good education – so big corporations to the rescue (target made just over $1B in profits in Q1 2011) who can throw a few morsels at the local schools.
Am I the only one thinking that there is something wrong with this picture?
American Culture Explained 
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