Bad credit

A couple of days ago I was watching TV when a commercial that I just couldn't believe came on screen. It was a commercial for a local credit union. It started off innocently enough: a mother and daughter were sitting around a table while the mother was doing bills. The daughter saw a credit card on the table and asked what it was. The mother replied, "That is a credit card. It is like invisible money. We use it to buy the things that we need."

It was a sickeningly sweet scene that did a great job in concealing its damaging message. The executives of that credit union should be ashamed of themselves. Is their intent really to have people view credit cards as "invisible money"? Is this truly how they think parents should be educating their children? After I viewed the commercial, I imagined that little girl ten years later, running around the mall and using her credit card with wanton disregard of the consequences like it was...invisible money.

I thought of how I would rewrite the commercial to make it more truthful if I was ever offered the opportunity. The commercial would be the same until the point where the girl asked about the credit card. Here is how I would have had the mother respond:

“That is a credit card. Do you remember when you learned about slavery in your social studies class? Well, that is what a credit card is like. Your daddy and I are the slaves, and the credit card is like the slaveowner. You see, daddy and I only buy the best clothes, homes, furniture, TVs, and gas-guzzling cars because commercials and TV shows and movies tell us that we need them to be happy, and we can’t think for ourselves. Since we are raising you, you will soon become a mindless consumer robot too. In only a few short years..." [a tear in the mother's eye as she thinks about how fast her little girl is growing up] "...you will demand that we buy you brand-name clothes and shoes, iPods that hold five million songs, and lavish parties, since all your friends have the same things.

“However, we cannot afford all these things right now because we're not rich like King Solomon. That’s where Mr. Credit Card comes in. Instead of being responsible and saving for non-necessities, and instead of being strong parents and telling you to get a job if you want all of the same useless crap that your friends have, we’re going let Mr. Credit Card buy all the stuff for us. In return, we will pay Mr. Credit Card more money than all the stuff is worth, and we will pay it off for years and years. We will give away our ability to afford stuff we will REALLY need in the future, like medical care, emergency funds, living expenses for our retirement, and your college education.

“So what do you think, lil’ Susie? Wouldn’t YOU like a credit card of your very own?” At this point in the commercial, the camera would switch over to Susie’s face. Her eyes would be as wide as dinner plates and her mouth would be dropped open with disbelief. Then she would run off to her room and drop a bunch of coins into her piggy bank…

Okay, okay. I know it was just a commercial. I am a strong believer in the American capitalist system, and I still believe that it is a parent’s responsibility to educate their children on fiscal responsibility and not the responsibility of corporations or television. After all, I’m still the good little conservative that my mommy and daddy raised. However, can’t some of these companies at least PRETEND to care about our welfare?