This is a great point. In the recent past, many people's credit scores were artificially inflated due to the low perception of systemic risk in the economy. N

This is a great point. In the recent past, many people's credit scores were artificially inflated due to the low perception of systemic risk in the economy. Now that that risk is better understood, the same person who had a 750 score might have a 650 score, etc., even if all payments have been made on time. I'm curious about the incentive this creates. Suppose someone had a score of 680 and was paying everything on time and had $5000 of available credit. Now, he/she has a score of maybe 640 and no available credit. What is the benefit to this person of continuing to care about any no-recourse debts in this case? He/she might imagine paying the debt off over 5 years as originally planned, or may consider abandoning/defaulting on the debt and saving the money instead, which would improve the person's financial picture over the next 5 years, and by 7 years out the default would be expunged anyway.