[jazzyk]

Debt has never been seen favorably in almost any culture - even in the US, before the 80s.

I think it was the Reagan administration made credit card debt interest tax-deductible and the cat was out of the bag.

[nopzor]

interesting! i had no idea that it used to be deductible (until 1986 apparently). i never really agreed with mortgage interest being deductible, but i at least understand the purported reasoning (eg. home ownership, american dream etc). but credit card interest? wow! that seems like a terrible idea all around.