I've actually seen the opposite. Most people who get to the upper-middle class do so by smartly using debt. Beyond the obvious examples of borrowing to get an

I've actually seen the opposite. Most people who get to the upper-middle class do so by smartly using debt. Beyond the obvious examples of borrowing to get an in-demand education and buying real estate in an in-demand location -- there are other smart times to borrow as well, like to expand a business. It's quite difficult to really get ahead without at least a little leverage. The irony is that the poorer you are, the more likely you are afraid of any and all debt -- which can be a very bad thing. In philanthropy I've seen many stories of young people who refuse to go to college due to a cultural fear of debt -- which often gets them stuck with a lifetime of low earnings. Or folks avoid taking on a mortgage only to find that rent inflation makes it difficult for them to retire later in life. (I realize that the article is much more focused on "bad" debt: car loans and running up credit cards to buy consumer goods.)