I had eventually recognized the value of credit for what it was.  A Dual edged device that could either cut a swath through difficult financial situations, or instead hit something immovable only to bounce back and hurt terribly.  Using credit cards is a lot like using someone else's money, then becoming immobilized by the process and reality of accountability. Yet, used when not NEEDED, it provides great benefit without the trouble. Huh.. go figure.

I had to set up a business model that said "I will not buy unless I have enough to pay for it."  My thought was this: "If I go out of business tomorrow, I will owe nobody more than I have."  This made it more difficult to keep up with my competition at first, as I watched them zip past my little company in growth.  But it also created a comfortable and predictable environment, and kept the damage from an occasional bad decision I would make, to a minimum.  Most of those of who borrowed heavily up front that I am aware, that, are now working for other competitors.

They bought it NOW.. Then learned later, it came at a cost.

Pay as you go.  Its a simple enough concept.  Does it mean you never ask for credit? No, but what it means is that you do not buy, unless you have a definite means of paying for it.  It means you think twice about spending money on things that aren't needed so that when the needs arrive, you can handle them with reserves on hand.  It means you actually carry "rainy day" reserves so that when revenues hit a downturn, you can maintain basic and needed operations without incurring interest and penalty creating debt.

Our government has carried debt for its "necessary" military endeavors as well as philanthropic measures. Arguably, the military needs to be financed and mobilized without hesitation.  Similarly, emergency relief measures are a reasonable sudden expense.  However debt or unfordable expenses accumulated for a feel good measure, or pet project deprives us the ability to spend on the necessary requirements later.

There are some economists who have argued that debt is not in itself bad, and then there are the pencil chewers in congress and the administration that have perverted such notions, and placed the burden on generations not yet born. Debt in government has consequence.  It results in higher interest rates, causes inflation, and creates environments that strangle free enterprise, business, and wealth creation. An item worth reading includes this:

"So, how does this affect the owner/manager of the emerging business? In many ways!

First, approximately 17 cents out of every dollar of total tax revenue collected is immediately used merely to pay the burgeoning interest on the Federal debt. This is now surpassing the costs for our entire defense establishment, and it is exceeded only by the revenues needed to fund the total Medicare and Medicaid programs. (Ostensibly, Social Security is funded independently.) We are held hostage by this horrendous debt; 17 cents is the ransom to be paid out of every dollar we must deliver in taxes."

In the essay I link to above, the author further describes how business is affected by debt.  It should be noted that in the SAME WAY, business is affected by poor government budgeting practices, and poor taxation policy.  

As our own Michigan state government is now deciding how it will balance a budget, it has less 2 billion than what is needed for operation using a similar budget from 2007 and 2008..  Revenues are projected to fall further, and frankly its anybodys guess what the state's actual income will be.  So looking at a number of possible cuts, the legislators are facing down those interest groups which will cry foul as they see their programs reduced or eliminated.

IF those earmarks and programs aren't cut.. then we MUST have tax increases once again, which is unacceptable.  Michigan is again at a critical point.  Either we buy only what we can afford, or we pass along to a larger problem later, the consequence of bad fiscal policy.  We cannot budget more than revenues because of our constitution prohibiting (thank god for prescient leadership of the past) a deficit, but what happens when as a result of higher taxes, the state's revenues decrease?

My own historical record of fiscal mismanagement allowed me to learn a better way of doing business.  Not because I was able to simply raise the prices on my goods and force my customers to buy from me, but rather from examining my allocation skills and learning from the failures.  I had to own up to my mistakes, a not so easy and prideful task.. I had to recognize my failures before I could fix them.

Our governor, and the leaders of both houses should realize by now that the single and simple gratification of saving of a particular pet program or series of projects today, might only lead to the overall failure and inability to provide anything, such as even the most basic services in the future.  Their choices should be clear, and prudent cuts to all programs might be warranted with no reciprocal tax increases or "closings of loopholes" that will stifle a return of vibrant business in Michigan