Is the financial immaturity demonstrated by middle class people who live on over extended credit card debt so that they can have SUVs, McMansions, private school for their children, and eat out most nights all that different from the poor people who have $300 sneakers and flat screen TVs (as often cited here on this forum to highlight the villianous character traits of the impoverished)?
And now that the very strict bankruptcy law written by the banking/credit card industry, passed by congress, and signed by the president is about to go into effect, making it all but impossible for individuals to declare bankruptcy, how will industry, government, and the media differentiate between the chronically poor and those driven to financial destitution by the law?
In the UK it is almost impossible NOT to get into debt. You are constantly getting stuff advertising credit cards and loans through the post, if you have money people are more than happy to lend you more. If you don’t have money, however, you have to borrow from loan sharks. And recent changes mean that it’s now very difficult to open a bank account if you have not got a driving liscence or passport to prove who you are. So poor people cannot even bank any spare money they might have and if they get a job that only pays into your bank - what then?
Its extremely similar… The thing that creates that is how many people are so interested in image and “keeping up with the jonses” they do that kind of thing. And from personal experiance, most of the kids who dress uber-preppy, wear $300 watches, and $200 sneakers live with one parent and are are just working class. People are just afriad of what they really are.