To downspout or not to downspout?

This really shouldn’t be a question but for some reason it seems to be to some folks. I just left an inspection that had settlement (stair step) cracks in the block on all four corners of the house. ALL of these cracks could have been avoided and I could have not spent the time taking pictures and writing all of them up if they had just installed some sort of splash block or drainage system to the end of their downspouts where it hits the ground. You can get something for next to nothing at Lowes, Home depot, Walmart, Target, etc. Dollar general may even have them. This funnels the water away from your house and not right onto the foundation for it to erode the soil around and beneath it away.  Broken, loose, or insufficient downspouts are the #1 reason I have seen for cracks and water issues on foundations while doing inspections. As a matter of fact it is so prevalent, that my software I use and a number of other software used for home inspections ask about downspouts in the very first of the report during the initial walk around. My software asks me a total of 3 times for downspout issues. Do yourself and your home a favor and go spend what you would spend on dinner at Texas Roadhouse and get some downspout extension of some kind.