Amazing article written in 2005 - a must read!

[Army Chief]

It's not the working guy in debt for his house and car that really bothers me, as at least those are semi-tangible assets with some inherent value -- and he can always scale things back if times get tough. It's the folks that don't work, don't really own anything of value and who continue to live at basically the same standard as everyone else (or better) thanks to our entitlement systems.

Frankly, working/involuntary poverty is a travesty, but sedentary/voluntary poverty should probably hurt a whole lot more than it does. That's easy to say, and hard to carry out because many of those situations involve single-parent households and such, and we can't allow the children to suffer, etc., but our collective sympathy doesn't really serve to make it any more sustainable. If anything, we've simply managed to empower the ones who have proven themselves the least responsible. I'll skip the all-too-predictable digression here.

Still, when you consider what we might call a "reasonable" standard of living today, it probably involves a lot more daily convenience and comfort than anything our grandparents had ready access to. The flip side, of course, is that they generally didn't seem to wrack up the debt that we do in order to get wherever it was that defined the American Dream in their day. We are doubtless more accustomed to the overreach, and interestingly, no one seems to be setting the example there any better than our own government.

AC

[Airhasz]

The article keeps repeating the ball is going to drop (we will all be homeless slaves) but it was written in 05`which will soon be a decade ago and I still see a whole lot of American Dream going on. With the sky is falling mentality running your daily thoughts the dream can easily pass you by without noticing you were living in the middle of it the whole time.

[Moose-Knuckle]

The square footage of American homes, nice cars for each parent, a big truck, a boat, a his and hers Harley, A/C, huge TVs, home theatres, plus luxuries like hundreds of dollars of cable and phone bills, smart phones for every member of the family, etc. and my take is the American standard of living is very high.

Ah yes, but how many Americans OWN those homes, nice cars, big trucks, boats, Harleys, A/Cs, huge TVs, home theatres, etc.?

Dave Ramsey said it best, 70% of BMWs in the US are leased and the number one vehicle driven by people who's net worth is over a million dollars is the Ford F-150.

[_Stormin_]

70% of the BMW's in the US are leased

The number is actually closer to half, and many of those leases are people who want a new car every two years. I lease my Audi for the same reason. I cut one check every two years and I get a new car. I never have to worry about mileage or maintenance (car is always under warranty and full maint package).

the number one vehicle driven by people who's net worth is over a million dollars is the Ford F-150.

This means a lot less than you would think. The Ford F-150 is the most popular truck in the world, and a large number of people with a net worth greater than a million dollars own businesses which mandate a vehicle which can haul things. Owning that truck is more corollary with owning a business, which also corresponds to higher net worth. That said, not knocking the truck, it's a great vehicle and many of the very well off people I know happen to have them. They also have them kitted out to the price level of a new German luxury sedan.

[Moose-Knuckle]

You want a tangible asset instead of scrip? Take your paper and buy gold/silver/bullets after you've covered water/food/shelter. It's perfectly legal to do so, and the government won't even try to stop you.

Well they have in the past, Executive Order 6102 and if they did it after the 1929 stock market crash just wait to see what the do the next time the market goes in the toilet.

[Moose-Knuckle]

This means a lot less than you would think.

No not really, as they are a practical automobile that can afford people the option of not living beyond their means which many do. It's ironic that the biggest penny pinchers are usually some of the wealthest. As one millionaire put it when he was asked what his favorite beer was, and he replied "which ever one is free".

But yes, Ford is dressing them out with crazy option/packages.

[_Stormin_]

Well they have in the past, Executive Order 6102

And if that were to happen today the ACLU would get off of their asses rather quickly to sue. Might be one of their first useful actions in a while.

as they are a practical automobile that can afford people the option of not living beyond their means

This comment negates the point of mentioning how many millionaires own them. Short of the top of the line German sedans and exotic sports cars, there is little at a local dealership that is beyond that person's means...

[Moose-Knuckle]

This comment negates the point of mentioning how many millionaires own them. Short of the top of the line German sedans and exotic sports cars, there is little at a local dealership that is beyond that person's means...

Well I think Mr. Ramsey was making the point that people lease luxury autos to make themselves look like they are important/rich while people who are actually rich couldn't give a rat's behind of what other idiots think of them when they see them on the street. Sam Walton was one of the most frugal men you could have ever met, the same can be said about Warren Buffet.

[cinco]

I mean this very much, thank you Javelin. That was simply a great link and read. Dead on. I appreciate reading and realizing that the "minority" of those with the writer's perspective are not alone. I hope this does some good for for others "lagging behind".

[_Stormin_]

Sam Walton was one of the most frugal men you could have ever met, the same can be said about Warren Buffet.

Meanwhile Larry Ellison is busy wrecking $40MM boats and buying islands, while Bill Gates, for all his philanthropy (which is AMAZING) has managed to have a law passed simply to be able to import a car which was never certified as road legal in the US...

At the level of income of these people frugality doesn't mean much. It's more a preexisting condition than an element of their success.