Does anyone else agree that maybe fixing the spending problems you might have first is more or less important that paying down the debt only so you can build it all back up again because you didn't fix the spending habit in the first place??

Absolutely, I agree.  The first step in not finding yourself in bankruptcy is to create a budget and learn how to stick to it.  I think the sticking to it is the hardest of the problems for people to accomplish, be then again many people don't even have a budget.  If you are rich you can hire an accountant.

I was reading that the International Monetary Funds pegs credit debt at $1 Trillion. Not sure how accurate that is.

The problem is that credit cards make it so easy to spend money that most people don't think twice about spending. That is what the credit card companies hope that we do, spend without thinking. That is how they make their millions.