Pay as you go and crunch the credit card

MORE than 30 years ago, deficit budgeting paved the path of Ireland’s road to perdition.

Roll-over borrowing became economic madness. It postponed the day of reckoning. We dug ourselves into spiralling debt. Everyone owed money to everyone else. It just needed one domino to default.

In recent months, many businesses found it difficult to get credit. The banks became cautious. Historically, overdrawn bank accounts oiled the wheels of commercial cashflow. Credit always cost money. There is a better answer. Customers should pay upfront when they purchase goods or services.

We have to learn self-control. We have to ditch the childish “I want it now” mentality. To be in debt is modern slavery. Credit is a flawed concept based on greed. The exception to the abolition of credit would have to be the housing market. Without a mortgage, most people could not afford a home. Let us change our attitude to the transaction of money. Crunch the credit problem. Cut up the credit card. Economic freedom and self-respect come at a price that is worth paying – Pay As You Go.

Michael Mernagh

Raheens

Carrigaline

Co Cork