People go under on credit cards because they can't stomach the ascetic lifestyles their (newly worsened) financial situations demand, and credit lets them hold

People go under on credit cards because they can't stomach the ascetic lifestyles their (newly worsened) financial situations demand, and credit lets them hold on to their standard of living a little while longer. I don't think better education about how badly it harms them would help much. We see present upside much more strongly than long-term future downside (see: procrastination), even if we are familiar with the nature of that downside. Emergency funds probably would.