I disagree. I do not believe that people like John Smith was one of the reasons for the financial meltdown. If John Smith could not afford credit, then he should not have been given credit or only given what he could afford, which may be a lesser car note and/or a lesser mortgage. If the banks considered what a person could actually afford, and confirmed what income a person was actually receiving, the financial meltdown could have maybe been prevented.
All debt is not tax deductible. I do believe that certain debt, for example,