Credit has become the drug of choice

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George F. Will: The other side of housing crisis




Thursday, May 15, 2008
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B7

"Lewis Carroll, call your office. Or, better still, the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" should call Washington, where the government's determination to solve the housing "crisis" produced this lead paragraph in a recent New York Times story: "Federal agencies are intensifying a criminal investigation of the mortgage industry and focusing on whether some lenders turned a blind eye to inflated income figures provided by borrowers."Perhaps some lenders who were lied to were culpably indifferent to dishonesty because they planned to sell to others mortgages that the lenders knew were risky. But the victimization narrative that is turning turbulence in the housing market into a morality tale involves borrowers victimized by "predatory" lenders. The narrative remains murky because there is scant information about the percentage of currently distressed borrowers who were untruthful about their incomes...


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Credit has become the drug of choice


Credit has become the drug of choice of the modern world, far more widespread than any other. Individuals, companies and governments must have their fix of it, for they are addicted to it, and the withdrawal symptoms are too painful to endure. Life without credit means no future debt is possible, and often their present debt is so large and overwhelming that they cannot go on without another credit fix. Like many drug users, however, they do not see that they have a problem. They're surrounded by other users who are in similar situations. "Credit and debt are just the way of the world, a necessity, and nothing to worry about. Everyone does it and no one's especially concerned about it. Besides, it feels good and helps make life more enjoyable. I need it. I've got to have it." Occasionally the "users," the debtors, feel the pain of their addiction and regret what they've gotten themselves into; but a fresh infusion of credit brings relief and temporary surcease from the pain.
Ted Rudow III,MA