Car debt piles up as more Americans owe thousands more than vehicles are worth

Yes, credit is too easy in this country, but more than that, we as a society seem to have turned a blind eye towards personal responsibility.

Do you have tens of thousands of dollars on your credit card that you can't repay? It's not your fault. Those nasty banks are at fault for giving you a credit card in the first place and forcing you to spend, spend, spend!

Are you living paycheck to paycheck and barely making the mortgage payment on your McMansion you bought? It's not your fault, it's those nasty banks again - they forced you to sign on the dotted line and borrow that money.

What the heck ever happened to living within your means? If you can't afford a new car, then why are you buying a new car (like the first couple did with their new Force Explorer).

I see too many people that remind me of a PFC that worked for me back in the 90s. He was underwater and in financial trouble. My NCO and I walked him through getting a debt consolidation loan. It wasn't even a month after that and he was in trouble again - why? No fiscal self-control.

Part of issue is COVID's effect on the economy. Car prices, used and new, spiked during pandemic due to slower production. Now that it subsided, buyers are underwater. We should remember how real estate speculation led to inflated house prices prior to 2008 financial crisis...

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/used-car-prices-plunge-after-pandemic-highs/

Credit card debt changed our world and got housewives working outside the home.