Yes, and then in the interim we invented having a hundred trillion dollars in GDP. I prefer having access to credit and so does everyone who owns a credit card. If you own a house, you didn't have its cash value when you bought it; neither your car, nor (most likely) your education. In the days of no borrowing, we solved the problem with ramshackle one-room buildings with dirt floors, handcarts, and the one book whose distributors desperately wanted everyone to have it for free.
Yes, and then in the interim we invented having a hundred trillion dollars in GDP. I prefer having access to credit and so does everyone who owns a credit card. If you own a house, you didn't have its cash value when you bought it; neither your car, nor (most likely) your education. In the days of no borrowing, we solved the problem with ramshackle one-room buildings with dirt floors, handcarts, and the one book whose distributors desperately wanted everyone to have it for free.