Adam Smith: “this issue is all about personal responsibility, taking responsibility for one's own actions. In this case, when people…”

“this issue is all about personal responsibility, taking responsibility for one's own actions. In this case, when people do not take responsibility for their own actions, others have to pay. We all pay more for everything that we buy because of the costs companies have to incur to cover those who do not pay their bills, and in particular, small businesses can be killed by this. If just a couple of critical creditors do not meet their obligations, small businesses can go out of business. We have a responsibility to honor our commitments. I think the worst message that I have heard in this whole debate is that what is really to blame is the marketing, that we should blame people for advertising credit, and it is their fault, it is not the fault of the person who fell for the marketing campaign, who accepted the obligation, accepted the money. It is somebody else's fault. When someone gets a credit card and charges it, they are responsible for paying it. Who does not know that? Everybody knows that. To say that it is not the individual's fault who has incurred the debt, but the person who gave them the credit, sends a terrible message to our country, that you do not have to be responsible for your own actions. Second, it hurts those who can responsibly use credit. I got one of those credit card applications, 10 or 15 of them, when I was in college. I used one of them and got a credit card and I paid it off every month.”