Which do you think toxic mortgage homedebtors would choose to keep first - their MasterCard or their house? Welcome to crazy land folks

Those zero-down liar's loan failed housing gamblers sure are a funny bunch. Too bad for the bag-holders and too bad for anyone who thought 2005 home values were anywhere near reality.

Debt-Laden Homeowners Save the Credit Card Before the House
NEW YORK (AP) -- Conventional wisdom has it that people will do everything to keep their homes. Not any more.

The proliferation of no-money-down home loans over the past few years, coupled with the current housing downturn, is giving rise to a new mentality: People will risk losing their homes while doing everything to keep their credit cards.

"This is the biggest surprise we're seeing," said Elizabeth Schomburg, senior vice president of the Family Credit Counseling Service in Chicago. "People are actually coming to us with situations where they are current on their credit cards but are in foreclosure."

New movie and book on credit-addicted Americans - Maxed Out by James Scurlock

Some smart people are starting to write books and make movies about everything we've been talking about here at HP.

The American economy isn't fine folks. People aren't doing well. All that wealth you see is just a mirage. And out of control consumerism is not a good thing.

It was all bankrolled by debt, massive, out of control debt. And now the bill is coming due.

Here's a book (and movie) on this out of control debt and addiction to credit cards - I encourage all of you to go see it, or read the book.

Deep in Debt, Deeper in Denial

"Maxed Out," a documentary that opens nationwide next week, examines the dark side of America's love affair with debt.

"Maxed Out" is directed by filmmaker James Scurlock, a Wharton business school dropout and entrepreneur. Scurlock also wrote a book based on the film, which is due out next week from Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster.

Scurlock says he started out hoping to do a lighthearted riff on consumer irresponsibility, but was shocked by what he found: College students and housewives committing suicide over their credit card debt, and the nation's biggest banks involved in predatory lending schemes.

"I wanted to know why people are living so close to the edge," says Scurlock. "A lot of people just haven't been able to keep pace with expenses like health care, education, and housing.

"It's not in anyone's interest to have a financial industry that behaves like a used-car dealership," says Scurlock. "I think it's conservative to expect that credit will be regulated in this country. People need to have to have strong financial industry that's trusted -- and to the extent that that erodes, that's very bad for the country and the economy."

Why, I asked Scurlock, don't people understand this? Why do so many consumers buy things on credit and then pay double for them over time? Why do they sacrifice what they want most in life for what they want this very second?

It's pretty simple, Scurlock says: "I think there's a lot of denial. Most people can't do the math. There is very little, if any, focus on the balance sheet side of the equation."