Aspiring towards more Debt 

 'Aspiration Nation' - UK Chancellor George Osborne's buzzword for this year's Budget has been hitting the media's headlines today.

I must admit that I felt some discomfort when I first heard that phrase. I have nothing against aspiration and in fact, I think that it is good to want to aspire towards something; it gives a person some sense of direction and purpose.

What I am uncomfortable about however, is that 'aspiration' to me is closely related to 'aspirational'. And immediately what comes to mind are status-conscious consumers looking to acquire the next new material thing in the market to keep up with the Joneses, whether it is the newest iPhone (is a smartphone a necessity or a luxury?) or the latest Prada bag. Images of aspirational middle-class Britons driving their Volkswagen Golf GTi, painting their walls with Farrow & Ball, and equipping their kitchens with the ubiquitious Le Creuset pots and pans, Nespresso coffee machines and Kitchen Aid mixers.

Ok, perhaps I am too quick to judge people by what they buy. But what worries me about all this talk about 'aspiration nation' is whether that is really the direction we want to head towards. Wasn't that what got Britain into trouble in the first place? Cool Britannia aspiring to be top of the world, its citizens flush with money - easily accessible through credit cards, bank loans and 100% deposit mortgages - which led to a huge property bubble that eventually burst and left most everyone still nursing their wounds. Do we really want to go there again?

Osborne's Help To Buy scheme aims to help help first-time homebuyers secure mortgages with as little as a 5% deposit; the government will guarantee the remaining 15% needed to reach the minimum 20% deposit that most banks require for mortgages. According to the Metro newspaper, the initiative also includes an offer of interest-free loans for five years if people want to buy new homes, to be repaid only when the homeowner sells the property.

On one hand, it is a laudable move to enable more people to own their homes, many of whom are currently renting because they can't get onto the property ladder. On the other hand, it all sounds to me like a situation of easy credit all over again, and it potentially encourages people to get into more debt than they can manage.

Sounds to me like we're aspiring towards more debt.