As well they should

It's Christmastime, so let's roll out that old seasonal chestnut: "Unpaid credit cards bedevil Americans"

An Associated Press analysis of financial data from the country's largest card issuers also found that the greatest rise [in delinquencies] was among accounts more than 90 days in arrears.

Brilliant! People who don't pay their credit card bills after two months are unlikely to pay them after three months.

Experts say these signs of the deterioration of finances of many households are partly a byproduct of the subprime mortgage crisis and could spell more trouble ahead for an already sputtering economy.

Yeah, and they're partly - oh, let's just say "mostly" - caused by juvenile, irresponsible people who actually fall for the Siren call of the credit card companies who urge us all to spend, spend, spend and worry about the payments later. Should the federal government also bail out those poor, misled Americans who can't afford a 60-inch television? Can you say "moral hazard"? I knew you could.

Extra - "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford"