a record 1.19 million. Outstanding credit card balances hit $484.6 billion at the end of April 1997 and delinquencies increased to nearly 5.5% of all outstanding dollars. Economists believe that the much-touted U.S. economic expansion may be waning, and a recession looming (Koprowski 1997).Personal bankruptcy is relatively easy for getting out of debt so being thrifty is no longer a virtue in American society. Sometimes, people will continue spending even when they know they will not be able to pay. While the bill collectors are calling they are steadily charging until the threat of repossession comes up and then they head for the bankruptcy court. The courts will be more crowded because of the acceptance of bankruptcy as just another lifestyle choice. Credit card companies are lobbying for limits on who can file for Chapter 7, in which one=s debts disappear, wanting instead to force debtors to use Chapter 13. Chapter 13 is designed to have people pay back their debts out of future income. Card issuers are also aggressively challenging filers= pre-bankruptcy purchases (McGinn 1997).The only way to prevent the equivalent of an economic meltdown due to the aging of thebaby boomers is to increase the level of personal savings in the United States. Americans lag far behind their counterparts in the industrial world in terms of their savings rate. It is not easy for Americans to save more money given the psychology of the current economic climate. When people feel positive about the future, they are more likely to invest in thinking about it and preparing for it financially.The current fatalism in American culture is exhibited most clearly in the rise in popularity of casinos. America is experiencing a proliferation of these establishments. Not only do they offer a means of escape from reality, one psychologist contends that casinos give otherwise intelligent people the psychological mechanism to allow themselves to lose and thus express th...
