Credit Cards: The New Addiction by Zachary Fischer

Alcohol, Illegal drugs, and cigarettes, these are all very popular addictions, now let’s add another type to the list, credit card. Credit card addiction is on the rise in the United States. This new “addiction” has dire consequences to those who fall prey to its alluring affects. A person simply sees that by buying on credit they get the item instantly, and pay later, never looking to when they actually have to pay. Even the average citizen falls to this problem, the average U.S. citizen owes more than 8,000 dollars in credit card debt (Motley Fool, 2007). The number of credit and debit accounts are on the rise as well. In 2006 there were over 980 million bank-issued Visa and Mastercard accounts created. (Visa USA, Mastercard International). This is issue effects not only the person but society as a whole as well. In terms of a private issue, one can be lured into credit cards, and then slowly begin spending, now  this issue that once was simply financial becomes a problem with health and relationships. Depending on your class this can change too, if you are in lower class, buying on credit could be the only way to get the necessities, and credit card debt is not necessarily created by the person. This also can be a public issue as well. There is a correlation between credit card debt and savings rate (Ritzer, 1998) that would suggest is affecting the public. Also the practiced of credit card companies is a public issue, they are fervent in their attempts to gain credit card holders, and no group is off limits, orientation day of college, credit card companies swarm to college students. The average debt of a college undergraduate in credit cards is over 2,500 dollars. Television adds go after all demographics. This issue is also cultural specific, with a culture that does not know credit cards, such as the Amish. This issue would not exist. However, where this issues does exist, it is a growing problem, and needs to be taken care of.

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