One could blame the national debt on the war, or the President, but when it comes down to it the only person or thing we can blame is ourselves. In the world today money is everything, and when there is no money, why not turn to the help of the next best thing, credit. Plastic cards are in every direction you look, whether they are the envied “black card” or any other form of card. Truth be told they are being overused and abused. Rather then people living on their means and the money they have, they turn to credit cards to give them what they want. Many carry around multiple credit cards making the problem even worse. I believe what makes credit cards so dangerous is how easy they are for you use. Unlike paying with cash, you don’t have to wait for change or make sure you have the correct amount, you simply slide and go. This may be another reason towards why it is so constantly used in peoples day to day lives. Like Credit, adjustable mortgage rates are another potential reason. Instead of beginning with starter homes, many newlyweds lean towards larger homes thinking that with mortgages, they will be able to slowly pay the homes off. Though they begin with lower interest, the percent you pay each year is tied to different indicators that determine whether the rate is going to go up or down. When inflation started going up so did the mortgage payments, resulting in higher bills and owners who could not pay. At this point the government had to come in to bail out the big banking firms with customers who did not have the income to pay, thus pushing America over the edge.

Though we are currently in the crisis already, if America works together, there are ways we can possibly end it or save ourselves from any further problems. In my opinion the best way to end the crisis is to reverse the reason for why the crisis started in the first place; reduce the amount of credit cards we use to a low minimum, and return to good ol’ paper money. Though it is not as simple as credit cards, it is real and something you can hold in our hands and know you have it. I feel that is would be smart for commercials to quite promoting the ease of credit cards and the annoyance toward people who slow the checkout line down by using cash. In sticking to what we can afford and steering clear of the luxury items, America can have a chance to recover, slowly but surely. Another issue is teaching children in schools and through families the dangers held in credit cards and the responsibilities necessary when using one. Though children receive some knowledge in credit cards, they need to receive proper training in using them. If at all possible, the best idea would probably be to just hold off on giving a child under twenty one, or until they have a reliable job, a credit card.

I myself am an offender of the same reason that I believe we are in so much trouble. I received a credit card at a young age and I was not sure of how exactly to use it, resulting in a seven hundred dollar debt that I could not pay. I, unlike America right now, was able to work my tail off and after about two years, pay it off. America’s debt though is already in the trillions. I was able to live under my parents for food and shelter while I earned enough to pay my bill. America’s parents, ourselves, are the ones who are actually pushing it further and further into debt.

When it comes down to it, America has always had quite a bit of money. Though we do import a great deal more than we export, we do not have the authority to blame out problems we are currently having solely on that. When a problem goes unnoticed for a long period of time it build up and takes time to work out all of the kinks before it is fixed or perfected. Take the first cell phone for instance. When it first came about there were constantly problems with it that had to be altered and tweaked to get it just right. Even though technology has improved quite a bit, every now and then cell phones will still have occasional problems. Similar to cell phones, we began running a state many years ago based on limited knowledge of what to do. now we have a greater understanding but there are always going to be the little bugs that go unnoticed and eventually have to, and will be fixed.