A few days ago, I heard a talk show host discussing the recent deluge of single-family home foreclosures.

He seemed to agree with everyone else that the mortgage crisis was caused by financial institutions that gave out too many mortgages to too many unqualified applicants. Also, that they did so stupidly and/or greedily (you pick) at unrealistic interest rates to individuals who were probably nice to orphaned animals, but who didn’t have enough money to buy a cold drink on credit from a grubby faced kid operating a lemonade stand.

The talk show host went further than the rest of the pundits, though. He insisted that none of the blame should fall on those who had borrowed money to buy houses, which they could not afford and were about to lose. It was not their fault that they were drowning in debt. It was the fault of the evil moneylenders.

He continued along these lines for a few minutes. Then he abruptly changed subjects and said something that took my breath away. All banks, he demanded, should be banned from issuing credit cards. Why? Because credit allows us to buy things that we cannot afford, and people should not be subjected to temptation.

Good grief, I thought. Life without ... temptation.