As a child, grandma used to never have or use a credit card, she paid cash or check for everything. In her latter years she saw her grandson get married, and wanted them to have something nice. Every few months a fine china plate, serving dish or other parts of the china pattern would arrive at our door. Now china is not something used every day, it is for special times, that family gathering on Christmas, or Easter, or Thanksgiving. Grandma, and Grandpa didn't have a ton of money, but they knew the importance of family. The important meals at Grandma's were always special, and though not known at the time, linked all the generations together in a indivisible unit. I say all this because this was when they got their first credit card. They needed it to order and ship the china. It was paid for monthly and when they died, there was no balance.
Credit was hard in their lifetime. Yes they had a mortgage, but it was paid off as quickly as possible. Credit was something you treated seriously. And avoided if at all possible. My parents had credit cards, but again they rarely carried a balance. Car loans were 12 months. My generation embraced credit, seeing it as a way to accumulate wealth, and the lenders certainly encouraged that. We had stuff, all supposedly ours, but bought with others money. Was it truly ours? After a few mistakes, my wife and I dismantled this credit lifestyle. Presently we only have two items: a mortgage, and a small loan on our business. Our lives are pretty much our own. Even if our business fails, we do not lose everything. It makes one quite independent.
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When I read that young people dream of being debt free, it was how their leadership shines. How many of their parents have long term mortgages? Massive credit card debt? And now look as if they will never be able to retire. They learned the lesson many in our generation have not. And this will translate politically in the future. America's greatest time is just around the corner as these forward thinking young people enter the leadership void created by our current crop. As they demand that government stays within their means, most of the problems of today will be solved.
Economically, it is the massive debt of our government that is holding us back. We all want to live in a compassionate society, and nobody wants to see people hurt or poor. However, that is not the governments job. That is the job of charities. They are much more efficient any way. When you hear that every man woman and child in our country owes $52,886, what is your reaction? How independent could we be if our government would pay their debt as most generations in the past have. When you look at American History, all past Congresses have done what they could to pay their debt. They did not look to passing it down to future generations.
There seems no will in our current Congress to do their job and stay within their means, while paying the debt. Debt does not build wealth, only servitude. Until our leaders, right or left, Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal, realize that this debt is a pox on all of us and develop the back bone and pay what they owe, we will not have the liberty that so many sacrificed so much for throughout our history. These dreamers offer America the chance to be free again! Thank you!
Spend Wisely!
