People know they shouldn’t carry credit card debt. They just want stuff too much.

That’s not an education problem as they know they shouldn’t do that.

This is reductionist to the point of uselessness. People "know" tons of crap, and singular known facts don't dictate behavior by themselves, no matter who you are. Every tradeoff you make is a result of all your collected experience and knowledge on the topic as well as your desires and the complexities of time-based decision making (bad now = good later, and vice versa, where the "bad" and "good" things are never quite comparable qualitatively).

Education affects humans, and education can be changed to better affect humans, but humans can't simply be changed except by education, so it's the ultimate irony to look at people doing a bad job, their fault or not, and imply we somehow can't or shouldn't use the one and only tool we have to change people. Giving up is easy, especially if it's strangers you're giving up on and you don't care about the entire picture of the society you live in. Bettering education is very hard. Taken together, it's obvious why so many people just want to say "they deserve it" and no longer think about it.

> If our education fails to teach, then our education has failed.

Or education was not the solution?

Education is a kind of solution but effectiveness is also a factor. I went through D.A.R.E and a whole host of other health and mindfulness classes. Just because you educated someone doesn’t mean they’re going to become immune to what you’re trying to teach them to avoid. Drugs, crime, and overeating are always going to be issues no matter how much “education” you throw at young people.

My point exactly, the focus on education is likely misplaced.

Sure, personal responsibility is not without importance.

But we don't solve obesity or poverty through education. We all know to eat healthy and exercise.

Making the right choices easier often has a bigger effect.