Just Window Shopping?

Posted by Jason and Elizabeth Ibrahim

We took my daughter to Target last night. Now Elise is only two years old, so she doesn't understand how money works. She thinks that you can walk into a store, take what you want, and walk out. She'll walk over to the Hello Kitty products, and snatch up everything she lays her eyes on. Sometimes we indulge her innocence, letting her walk around with numerous things that we'll never end up buying. She just doesn't know any better.

While we were at Target, we also saw numerous college students. Now these kids are only teenagers, or in their early twenties, so they don't understand how to manage their money. They think they can walk into a store, take whatever they want, and go back to their dorms. They'll walk over to the iPod aisle, and snatch up everything that says either "Apple" or "Blu-Ray". We chalk it up to innocence; there may come a day in the future when they'll have to pay for all this stuff, but "buy now, pay later" is as close as our culture comes to a religious commitment. They just don't know any better.

For the past several weeks, we've been reading about the plight of some of the biggest banks in the nation. Now these are people whose business is loaning money, so as far as they know, there's no problem in life that can't be solved by a loan application. They think they can set up shop in the poor end of town, set up high-interest mortgages with credit risks, and expect to get repaid. We chalk it up to profound stupidity; if our society's mantra is "buy now, pay later", then the bill has come due for companies like Citimortgage. They ought to know better, but they don't.

For the last couple decades, our Great Society, as represented by our elected officials, has been agreeing to significant financial commitments. Now these are people who spend (or loan) other people's money for a living, so there are few problems in life that can't be fixed by a cost-of-living adjustment. They think they can campaign on a platform of tax-and-spend, enacting programs designed to return some of the money we sent to them originally; worse yet, they have the audacity to call it "stimulus." Then they think they can buy up every pet project that strikes their fancy (or ACORN's). We chalk it up to a slothful electorate; if we have a governance crisis, the only possible solution is more government. They definitely know better, but what incentive is there to improve when we just don't care?

So the next time you get the credit card bill for the Wii Fit that sits in the closet in near-mint condition, and you're lamenting the 18-to-35 percent interest; or frustrated that the financial decision maker in your household is in diapers; or wanting to go to Circuit City, Ruby Tuesday or Krispy Kreme; or lamenting the state of your 401k, ask yourself: was it really window shopping?

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