This is a good point. The message set by government today - and surprisingly, it's a message the the GOP Congress hasn't withdrawn -- is that you pay for what your appetite wants, not what your wallet can afford. The whole notion of self-restraint and self-discipline has been abandoned by the federal government, and that example has an effect on public attitudes and habits, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, state governments, with lotteries and heavy ad campaigns, teach people to blow their hard-earned money on impossible fantasies.
Be careful you don't get what you pray for.
People take responsibility for their own finances. Just because the government has profligate spending habits does not translate into John and Jane Doe blowing all their money. It is a specious argument.
It may happen with some people, but those people are a minority and are probably going to do that whether their government is miserly or wasteful.
Churchillbluff, your views on the mental capability and morality of your fellow man are clear enough in your postings. It is not surprising that you would take the view that people have no self control and are incapable of standing on their own two feet.
That is not conservatism, that is liberalism.