Well, sure, but that's a "people cannot buy a phone outright because people cannot buy a phone outright" problem. If you can't afford a 1000 dollar phone, then

Well, sure, but that's a "people cannot buy a phone outright because people cannot buy a phone outright" problem. If you can't afford a 1000 dollar phone, then taking a loan out to buy one is completely illogical. It's a depreciating asset with diminishing returns - a 200 dollar phone does basically all the same things. The issue is that loans have a psychological effect on some individuals which makes them more like to spend more than they would otherwise. They end up in a sort of situation where wealth doesn't exist at all and all future income is accounted for already.