[selectodude]

>Maybe it's the puritan and "prosperity gospel" roots.

No, the puritans (and Europeans in general) considered bankruptcy a moral failing and it was punished with societal banishment and prison.

The United States invented modern bankruptcy law. States have taken it a step further and protected most major assets from being seized in a bankruptcy (house, car, certain amounts of cash), so the absolute worst case from failing is that you dust yourself off, wait a few years and try again. It's just part of the culture now.