Barbara Dafoe Whitehead of the American Interest has written an excellent article entitled: A Nation in Debt: How we killed thrift, enthroned loan sharks and undermined American prosperity. More than the usual panic about the amount of debt in the US, the article covers how the old American ideals of saving and thrift fell by the wayside.

[Click here for A Nation in Debt]

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Header photograph by The Consumerist

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On Point’s most recent show covered the increase of American’s debt and decline of thriftiness since the start of the nation.  From the show’s description:

Once upon a time, America was famous for its thrift — for local banks and credit unions and savers’ clubs that encouraged everyone – even the little guy and gal – to save their pennies and get ahead.

Today, America is famous – maybe infamous – as the debtor nation: the country that rains credit cards down on the public, builds “little guy” dreams on lotteries and scratch tickets, and struggles with a subprime lending mess.

What happened, and how do we fix it?

[Click here to listen to 'Debt Nation' on On Point]

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Header photograph by kevindooley