People have to buy stuff so that some people make a lot of money and are motivated to build the big pretty skyscrapers that so many on these forums seem to like so much.
The biggest falling-down of our educational system is that there is no basic personal financial education in our high schools. You ought not be allowed to graduate unless you know how dumb it is to run a balance from month-to-month on a credit card (unless you are literally starving and that is the only way for you to get food). Other than that, if people can afford it they can buy whatever they want with their own money and I won't get weepy about it and the government ought to let them keep as much of it as possible.