It may be hard to believe, but Personal Responsibility does exist in the 21^st century. It has been forced into another form and must be doubly undertaken by those who still believe in its original form. For those of us who take personal responsibility for our own futures, for paying our own way, for our own successes and failures – we must now take it personal that we have to accept responsibility for those who will not. 

It’s no longer just the lifelong welfare monger that we must pay for – it has spread like wild fire. We must now pay for those who never pay for anything: believing credit is the only answer. Those who never save for a rainy day, have no concept of an emergency fund, and whose definition of afford is based around monthly payments.  Poor decisions used to carry negative consequence – those consequences motivated us to choose wisely. 

While removing the negative consequences for poor judgment and bad decisions, the government is shifting the punishment to those who chose more wisely, who have found individual success (or are working towards it.) I must now pay my mortgage as well as someone else’s. I do not believe in nor use credit cards, but it is I who will pay for the avalanche of defaulting users. 

Why do I sacrifice the short term in order to improve my long term, only to have it redistributed to those who have no concept of planning? 

One thing that we must understand, we must hold as truth, is that debt (and the inability to repay it) is not the problem. IT IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Debt is the symptom, the symptom of a lacking budget (or the absence of). It is the symptom of an unrealistic expectation, a habit of levying ones future for short term status or gain. I don’t want to hear how it isn’t possible, or that we must have an increase in credit flow to save this country. Debt got us here, debt won’t save us. You don’t dig your way out of a hole.

Let me share a story. A young couple decided to take control of their future – to make their money work for them. To do this they knew it would take sacrifice. They didn’t accept that they “would always be in debt” or “always have a car payment.” These two - neither having a college education, averaging about 70K a year – took personal responsibility, buckled down and paid off 120K in debt in 4 years. There were set backs and sacrifice, but they had resolve. They weathered 2 years of being separated by an ocean, but never lost sight of the big picture. 

These two now have to face the fact that they will be paying to “save” others from foreclosure, paying for the band-aids to cover up a problem that so many will not sacrifice to solve. Having to hear how impossible it is – knowing how ridiculous that statement is.

It’s not only the individual. The banks making stupid loans for houses that they know could not be afforded deserve to go under as well. Credit card companies are snakes, play with them (use them) and you are asking to get bit – be it an interest rate hike, late fees, etc. The best way to punish them is to not give them your money.  

Better choices are needed. Consequences, be it positive or negative, need to be left in place. We cannot let the government create consequences that are in opposition to a natural, classical conditioning and expect people to do well. I choose to take personal responsibility, and I will take it personal when someone does not and I am punished while they get a bailout.