Some things you just can't make up. On the same day the country is trying to figure out what a $700 billion bailout of troubled banks means, we've also got this:

"Treasury Launches Multi-Media Campaign to Help Young Adults Control Their Credit."

Yes, that's right. In the middle of what some people are saying could be one of the biggest financial crises in American history, the federal government is starting a new campaign to make sure "the young people" know the importance of having good credit.

Of course there is nothing wrong with trying to make more people understand how a bad credit score can ruin their life. I've written in the past about how helping young people with credit now could avert some serious problems for our economy in the future.
This is especially true for college students, who are bombarded by credit offers during a time when money can be extremely tight.

But the Treasury Department's new campaign is as ill-timed as it is a little silly. Aside from public service announcements for TV and radio, it also includes an online game called Bad Credit Hotel (www.controlyourcredit.gov). To win the game users must follow clues in a spooky hotel to reach room 850 (which also happens to be the number for a perfect credit score.)

Still, games and PSA's aside, isn't there just a hint of hypocrisy here considering everything that is going on?

Isn't this a bit of "do as we say, not as we do," considering that banks such as Bear Sterns and insurance company AIG got help from the government when it looked like they were on the brink of collapse?

["For Banks, Bailout; For Young People, Advice About Credit" - New York Times]

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