I would say the cynical answer is because our credit cards are valuable. We have the mentality that we are somehow responsible for other people's crimes/crimina

I would say the cynical answer is because our credit cards are valuable. We have the mentality that we are somehow responsible for other people's crimes/criminal negligence. Just the other day, I read about how someone managed to pick up over a thousand dollars in overdraft fees when he was struggling to make ends meet and now he never had that problem because he has access to credit cards (that he can afford to pay off in full every month so it doesn't cost him much extra).