If you were not convinced that many Americans are debt-ridden, taking on more liability than income and stretched beyond their means, then this post should be fun to read! I heard over the radio today during my commute that people were resorting to pawning items like chainsaws, jewellery and other goods in order to pay for gas to get to work.

Doing a bit more research (which means googling for news), here’s a list of different local newspapers that have reported the phenomenon in their regions. A cynic would rate these tales as a little bit of fear-mongering and a little bit of journalistic voyeurism for ratings. Who would think about breaking the news on people pawning their valuables for black gold in their automobile? Would anybody actually be proud of their pawning activities and report it to the media?

Perhaps, you can file this under “Believe It or Not” news. In any case, there cannot be a stink without something rotten causing it. I’ll leave you to judge if this is fabricated news or tell-tale investigative journalism signaling a brewing problem.