Barclays added that the knock-on effect of escalating debt would be that people are saddled with debt for longer and would beunabletobuy their first home or start paying into a pension until much later in life.
Consumers wanting tobuy goods by mail order may beunableto pay by cheque because the seller will be unwilling to accept a payment that carries a levy of nearly 25%.
His view is that benefit claimants will be far better off if they are unabletobuy what he calls "NEDD items"- things that were, in his words, "non-essential, desirable but often damaging".
Mr. TONY SALAZAR (Panel Member, Crescent City Rebuilding Corporation): This corporation will have the ability tobuy homes, buy property from owners who are unwilling or unableto rebuild in those investment areas that will be finalized later.