Change the American Philosophy on Consumerism and the Lending Industry

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Recommended: Consumerism in today's society

The best solution to the mortgage crisis America is facing today is both easy . . . and difficult to execute. The solution is two-pronged: change the American philosophy on consumerism and debt while also making concrete changes in the way the lending industry works. Both demand taking a long-term view in order to be successful.

A New Philosophy

Changing one’s philosophy is easy, but putting it into practice on a daily basis is not. One needs to employ will-power, diligence and the ability to think long-term, all virtues that fell by the wayside long ago in America. Anymore, Americans get what they want, when they want it from a seemingly infinite list of choices and it is all purchased with credit. Americans pay for their immediate gratification by leading highly leveraged lives.

The first step in turning the mortgage crisis into an American success story is to focus on the virtues of frugality and taking responsibility for personal actions. If a person made a bad choice by taking on a house or a type of loan that was more costly than he or she could handle, he or she must take the high road: work an extra job, dump cell phone, cable and internet contracts, go out to eat less and be frugal in other areas to make the payments to follow through on the commitment. Americans are completely willing to take on debt to have what they want, but when everything falls apart, they wait for someone else to bail them out. It is time for Americans to be smart with their own money and stop waiting for someone else to do it for them. People need to learn to live within their means, stick to a budget and work hard to do it. All of this is possible if Americans commit to two things: change their way of thinking and let that new philo...

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...hose choices. It is time for Americans to change their philosophy on how to treat money, learn self-control and be more capable of identifying the differences between wants and needs. In addition to changing ideological viewpoints, amending the current state of the mortgage industry is imperative. Three areas that would improve the current crisis include: mobilizing lenders to contact borrowers who are at risk of default and offering them lower, fixed-rate mortgages on their homes; requiring higher certification standards for individual loan officers so they are well educated about their products; and offering educational opportunities to borrowers so that they may better understand the borrowing process and what home ownership truly means. With a new outlook and a solid plan, Americans are fully capable of ameliorating the current state of the housing industry.

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