I've got a question. When did Americans, who are captives to out of control consumerism, thanks to the magic of plastic, start caring about affordability? You know, as well as I do, that the average American is thousands of dollars into credit card hock, thanks to their inability to live within their means, because of their refusal to deny themselves whatever they desire, regardless of whether or not they can afford it. Affordability has nothing to do with American consumerism, at least not till one's credit cards are maxed-out and canceled. Then, and then only, do beads of sweat begin to form on consumers’ brows, because they go into consumer DTs, over the fact that they can no longer get their daily fix of spending money they don't have to buy things they can't afford to either tickle their own fancy or to keep up with the Joneses.  

I can solve the affordability crisis in a heartbeat. All you have to do is take everyone's credit cards away from them. If everyone has to start paying cash for what they purchase, they'll be forced to live within their means. Not only will they no longer be able to buy what they can't afford, but prices will start dropping like a rock. No longer will bankers be enriching themselves off high interest rates charged to overspending credit card holders. No longer will theme parks, like Disney World, be able to pilfer people's lifesavings for the price of a ticket. No longer will Nike be able to sell tennis shoes for the same amount as your annual taxable income. And no longer will McDonalds be able to sell Happy Meals as if they were pheasant under glass from the Waldorf Astoria.

Let’s face it, as long as Americans can’t deny themselves anything their little hearts desire and can swipe a credit card to magically obtain it, regardless of whether or not they can afford it, the American consumer will continue to dig himself or herself deeper into debt, prices will continue to skyrocket, our national debt will continue to soar, the rich will keep getting richer and the poor poorer, merchandise will keep disappearing off merchants’ shelves, and the stock market will keep flying high on paper money airplanes. However, some day soon, our financial house of cards will collapse around our ears. When that day comes, we’ll finally realize that the problem was never affordability or cost, but avaricious and covetousness, by which we slit our own throats with the worn-down and sharpened edges of our credit cards.