Want a sense of how bad debt-saddled and spending-addicted Americans are doing? "Cash-strapped Americans raiding their 401(k)s"

Housing-addicted Americans thought the party would never end. They stopped saving, they spent like millionaires, they raided their homes for spending loot, and now they're starting to suck dry their 401ks.

THIS IS SICK!!!! NOTE TO AMERICANS - YOU DON'T NEED MORE CHEAP CRAP FROM CHINA!!! PUT DOWN THE DAMN VISA CARD AND LIVE WITHIN YOUR DAMN MEANS!!!

What's next? Peeling off drywall to heat the home? Putting your kids on eBay? Addicts I tell ya. Addicts.

Despite potential tax and investment problems, more investors have been borrowing from their 401(k) plans or taking hardship withdrawals in recent months, some retirement plan providers say.

Many in the field expect more borrowing in 2008, as consumers struggle with tighter credit and potentially higher mortgage payments.

Increased borrowing on 401(k)s could be because of the credit crunch and slumping housing prices. To be sure, the indications are preliminary; it's too early to say why it's happening, according to the Hartford Financial Services Group.