Movie Review

Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders-

I decided to make myself mad and watch a documentary on debt in America. I have pretty much no credit card debt. There was a time that this wasn't true, but now that it is this way I am far happier and better off. But when I did have debt I didn't blame the credit card companies or the government or anyone other than myself. It was my own greed and desire for instant gratification that got me in debt.

And that is the flaw with this movie. It only points fingers. There is no acceptance of personal blame. Although it did open my eyes to many truly evil big business and government goings on.

But I would have been more interested to see more sides of the stories. We live in a society of an idea of self entitlement. We have far too many who want the giant house and the fancy car and nice clothes, but can't truly afford it. So those who get themselves in trouble living far beyond their means don't get much pity from me.

I remember when my wife and I were first shopping for a house. We got pre-approved for a loan. The amount they were willing to give us was insane. But we had enough sense to realize that we couldn't afford a mortgage on a loan that size. So we used our heads and set our own limit of what we knew we could afford.

So yes there is much big business evil being done, but why the hell would you trust big business? In the end, use your head.