Credit

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           Credit is the basis of American trade. Everything in an American's house is bought on credit: the stove on which he cooks his meals, the furniture on which he sits, the vacuum-cleaner with which he tidies the room - everything was acquired by down payment. In point of fact neither his house, nor his furniture, nor the wonderful gizmos of mechanized everyday life belong to him.
          [...]
           It would seem that in the life of the average American, that is, the American who has work, there would have to come a moment when he pays off all his debts and becomes a real, genuine proprietor. But it's not that easy. His car has gotten old. The company is offering a beautiful new model. The company will take the old car for a hundred dollars, and is giving wonderful discount rates for the remaining five hundred: so many dollars the first month, and then...
           Then the happy proprietor somehow happens to lose his work (in America it's called losing your "job") and his new automobile with two different horns, electric cigarette lighter and radio receiver is returned to the real owner - the bank which gave him credit.

Chapter Thirteen: Mr. Ripley's Electric House.