When credit cards are concerned, are college kids adults...or kids?

Are college students adults or not? Because the last time I checked, it seemed they were adults and capable of making their own decisions. In fact, they're capable of signing up for the military and capable of voting, so I'm thinking that the decision to sign up for a credit card might be within the realm of possibility for them.

But falling in line with our now-very-popular American way of blaming everyone else for our problems... credit card companies are taking heat for *gasp* offering credit cards to adults! How dare they!

A Milwaukee unit of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group is telling consumers that credit card companies are to blame for the debt of college students. And while I admit that the credit cards are the vehicle for racking up this debt, the blame must be placed squarely on the college students and their spending choices. How many college students do you know who got a new credit card and ran out and maxed it out almost immediately? But on the flip side, how many do you know who just held onto that credit card in case of emergency or for an occasional purchase? (Hint: There are lots more of the latter.)