You are correct, while rereading I also noticed that the essay is specifically talking about consumer debt. And for that it would probably not be helpful to ruin credit scores over a few hundred dollars, if one ever wanted to finance a house or something like that later in their life.
Ah, das kommt aus Gotisch? Ich kenne das nur als Sample in „Sire Jonah - Das Duell“ und habe mich schon gefragt, aus welchem Spiel das Original stammt