You *do* want some credit..

I've just been out to Argos to buy a baby gate and been offered a credit card *three times*, by three different people, in the same shop, in the space of 10 minutes!

There's a smell of desperation in the air.

It took me a while to work out why people are desperately pushing credit in the depths of a credit crunch. Then I remembered the Money As Debt video clip and finally got there in the end.

People need new debt to sell in order to create new 'money'. This is despite the fact that many of those being targeted to take on the new debt will have no chance of ever being able to repay it.

Also, I keep meaning to comment on the rebranding of debt as *credit*. Debt sounds bad, like something you wouldn't want to have, whereas credit sounds quite nice, doesn't it? Money in the bank. Money to spend. Old news to most people no doubt, but I don't think I've said it before.