We now have the answer to George Leef’s question: How do you make people better off by taking an option away from them?

You do a survey and call nonpayment of bills a “financial option.

Marie Antoinette has nothing on Robrto Quercia at the Center for Community Capital or Mark Pearce, deputy commissioner of banks. Pearce said, “Working people… have a lot of financial options, and they use them.”

Most use multiple options, including skipping an expense or paying it late, which was the most common; dipping into savings; tapping friends and family for loans; and using a credit card to obtain a cash advance.

“We were happy to see that low-income families in financial distress were able to meet their needs,” said Roberto Quercia, director of the Center for Community Capital.

I’m simply flabbergasted. If people are not paying bills on time, they are not able to meet their needs. The bills are their needs. How much more do they pay in late fees? Cash advances from credit card companies are also not cheap. They come with high fees and high interest rates. I cannot believe people who were angry at an industry are completely sanguine about the inability of people to pay their bills.

I predicted two years ago there would be stories about people being unable to pay their bills. I never expected those stories to suggest that not paying bills is a good way to manage money. Roy Cooper just keeps winning.