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"...No fault can be made to a corporation that discloses by law, the contract between lender and borrower. You failed to note the outrageous bankruptcy claims filed, more every year. The rampant consumerism among those that can not pay for it can be blamed on Leftist ideology. The right of the ability to consume, cannot...."

You note correctly that the lenders who operate within the auspices of the law should be held harmless. In this I agree. If my post left the impression that I blame the recent trend towards credit overextension solely or even mainly with the creditor, than I have indeed failed in driving home my point. The incidence of bankruptcy claims has begun to be dealt with through recent legislation aimed at curbing those abuses, but the law can only go so far in solving with this problem.

So can I only go so far, as a long post here is considered undesirable. I wish we could more thoroughly explore every part of the conservative platform and the economic realities of life, but we are limited by the posting realities of freerepublic.com. Even so, we often try people's tolerance.

This problem, whether we wish to face it or not though, is becoming acute. And I am not merely speaking of personal debt, but even more importantly, of the collective debt of all Americans that this federal budget deficit is becoming.

I used the vulnerability of the young citizen as an example, not as a limit. Of all of the various groups of lower-income earners, the novices to the marketplace are perhaps the most susceptible to the lure of instant gratification. In my opinion the young can usually survive whatever damage they inflict upon themselves, and perhaps at least be chastened by the experience. Any attempt to limit their, or anyone else's, right of ability to contract for credit would be an exercise in futility, and I don't know of anyone who propounds that.

It seems to me, however, that as much as we decry and rail
here on Freerepublic at outrageous examples of what is being taught in schools today, in so many of our posts here, we must at least stand prepared to offer concrete examples of what we are in favor of, else we are not much different from the demonstrators who perennially wish for change, but have no clue as to what they want to put in place of that which they want torn down.

One of the few things I would think likely to be universally agreed to among Americans, would be that the science of finance and credit management is apolitical and outside the contested zone of values and religion. What more suitable and valuable subject could there be for high school curriculum? If they could do anything right, surely, they could at least prepare our young adults to manage their own finances, and understand the mechanisms of budgeting and asset accumulation. If not, then exactly what good are they, after all of this education money has been handed to them?

Surely no one can believe that anyone gains from being overwhelmed by debt? Yet as crushing as this burden may be for individuals, a more overwhelming threat is poised just over the horizon, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.
The principal is the same, and so is just easier to illustrate on the personal level.

Many conservatives have defended the overspending by their own party in congress. Agreed, that we had to re-elect the most fit candidate for President as a first priority, and that we must win this present war with terrorism as our second.

But a silence seems to have descended in regards to the massive overspending going on in congress, now that we are in power.

We will not be able to make our younger generation understand the sweet poison of "buy now, pay later" unless we hammer the point home to them...before they are in too deep.

Who...will hammer it home to us adults?