NY Times has a interesting article titled - The American way of debt . It provides some interesting insights into the impact of debt in the society, consumer culture and traces its roots very well:
- Consumer indebtedness is soaring, the savings rate is down to zero and people are filing for bankruptcy at record rates. To many observers, these are symptoms of cultural decline, from sturdy thrift to flabby self-gratification.
- Debt has always played an important role in Americans' lives — not merely as a means of instant gratification but also as a strategy for survival and a tool for economic advance.
- Indebtedness could discipline workers, keeping them at routinized jobs in factories and offices, graying but in harness, meeting payments regularly.
- A bigger standard package of household goods demanded deeper debt and accelerated the pace of the consumer treadmill. No one wanted to look like a "loser."
- Less-affluent Americans have resorted to borrowing for groceries as well as cars.
- One of the most consistent statistical findings of recent years is that about half of all personal bankruptcies have been caused by medical bills.