Leading nicely on from my expose of the crooked counselor at HRRJ who had a spending addiction, that led her to commit bankruptcy fraud - among a number of federal financial offenses - my favorite conservative columnist, David Brooks of the NYT, has written an op-ed column on the moral and social problem of indebtedness in America.  He's one of the few conservatives I can stand to read or listen to, but he is always well-reasoned, and articulate, so after reading the excerpt I am copying below, please read his whole op-ed - its well-worth the time. He makes an excellent case that this is more of a social issue for the poor and less well-off than it is for the well-heeled.

David Brooks: NY Times 10 June 2008: " The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about how to use and harness money.

Sixty-two scholars have signed on to a report by the Institute for American Values and other think tanks called, “For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture,” examining the results of all this. This may be damning with faint praise, but it’s one of the most important think-tank reports you’ll read this year.

The deterioration of financial mores has meant two things. First, it’s meant an explosion of debt that inhibits social mobility and ruins lives. Between 1989 and 2001, credit-card debt nearly tripled, soaring from $238 billion to $692 billion. By last year, it was up to $937 billion, the report said.

Second, the transformation has led to a stark financial polarization. On the one hand, there is what the report calls the investor class. It has tax-deferred savings plans, as well as an army of financial advisers. On the other hand, there is the lottery class, people with little access to 401(k)’s or financial planning but plenty of access to payday lenders, credit cards and lottery agents.

The loosening of financial inhibition has meant more options for the well-educated but more temptation and chaos for the most vulnerable. Social norms, the invisible threads that guide behavior, have deteriorated. Over the past years, Americans have been more socially conscious about protecting the environment and inhaling tobacco. They have become less socially conscious about money and debt.

Foundations and churches could issue short-term loans to cut into the payday lenders’ business. Public and private programs could give the poor and middle class access to financial planners. Usury laws could be enforced and strengthened. Colleges could reduce credit card advertising on campus. KidSave accounts would encourage savings from a young age. The tax code should tax consumption, not income, and in the meantime, it should do more to encourage savings up and down the income ladder.

There are dozens of things that could be done. But the most important is to shift values. Franklin made it prestigious to embrace certain bourgeois virtues. Now it’s socially acceptable to undermine those virtues. It’s considered normal to play the debt game and imagine that decisions made today will have no consequences for the future. "

I like the part where David Brooks  says churches should put their money where their mouth is - and lend the money to people in need.  Of ocurse, that not exactly how he put it, but its the meaning of what he said!!. Now there's a fine idea!! How about making the loan interest free, like the Moslem rule? The Catholic church may be a bit flint at the moment with all the billions they've paid out over their rogue pedophile priests, but it just goes to show that they were able to spend it when they had to pay judgments from a worldly court, so why couldn't they have used that money to help the poor of this world?

 Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/opinion/10brooks.html?em&ex=1213243200&en=95803073a0a2b518&ei=5087%0A