The new American way: Be a deadbeat

With people obsessing over the economy and crying about how terrible things are, it seems it has become the norm to consider ditching out on your creditors. Credit card bills have you sad? Declare bankruptcy! Paid too much for your house and now you're fretting? Walk away and let the bank worry about it!

There is now a website to help you ditch out on your mortgage while getting the most you can out of the foreclosure process. YouWalkAway.com offers to help you milk the system, living in your house "payment free" during the foreclosure process and hopefully not paying another dime toward your house. You stay in the house, save your money for your next apartment or house, and the bank is stuck worrying about selling the house and foreclosing on you.

I'm sorry, but those who incurred debts (for whatever reason) need to pay them. Sure, it's easier to walk away and never look back. And it may be considered "legal," but it is certainly not moral. Everyone else pays for your mistakes, irresponsibility, and refusal to do the right thing. It's wrong, and we all know it. But it seems it's becoming the American way.

What do you think?

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.