The great credit card swindle

Read entire article HERE

" Anyone smart enough and with a decent credit rating would refinance the debt on to a housing or personal loan at a cheaper interest rate, but those in real trouble would not be able to do so. "That means the average credit quality of the credit card borrower is perhaps lower than it might be otherwise, so it may be higher risk. "
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Note: This is bad economic advise - since such shuffling of debt leads the borrower to again run up the credit cards - leading eventually to ... more credit card debt. Eventually the equity to support further borrowing becomes depleted and the situation becomes unsustainable.

Taking a step back - one must wonder why people are so reliant on credit cards. Is it because we are living in a debt-based system - rather than a savings based system - where inflation has diminished purchasing power - wages lag inflation - jobs are scarce - and the consumer is left with credit as their only option to maintain their standard of living?