[kennend3]

> . That alone is a forcing function pushing young Americans to rely on credit, greasing those consumer wheels by decoupling their spending from their earning at a young age.

I'm Canadian and lived in the US for several years and can attest this is a strange system.

Here (Canada) credit scores are starting to become more and more common but this is a new thing, and probably something we 'borrowed' from the US.

When i moved to the US I had a credit score of zero and a really good income. I had problems finding a place to live as everyone asked for my credit score.

I finally bought a car and took out a loan which i paid off a few months later simply to attempt to build a "credit score" and make my life easier.

Things may be different now, but I dont recall ever being asked for a "credit score" when attempting to rent in Toronto many years ago.