I wonder how much financial illiteracy is really a contributor to people's poor financial situations. I'm much more interested in personal finance than the average person (I took a class at university, enjoy pf blogs like mr money mustache) but I still struggle with having the self discipline to adhere to correct spending behaviors. As an american, you're constantly being assaulted by marketing to get you to buy stuff, it eventually starts to effect you.
Reading the comments section on the Atlantic site was depressing. Judging other people's choices without understanding psychology or human nature seems to be a time-honoured American sport.
The author's whole point is that he belongs to a large category of people with the same affliction. If the socioeconomic system of a developed and very wealthy country leads to this outcome for 47% of its people, the proper response is not to nitpick the author's life choices. I find this sort of hypocrisy is strongest from the notionally conservative types who claim to be excellent financial planners and managers of money. I'd like to see them hold up a mirror to their own financial choices for thirty seconds. It turns out we're all idiots because we spend on things we find important and subjectively value--things others don't value and don't find important, and will call you an idiot for prioritising.
"A decent shot at a good station in life--but only if you've been an inscrutably perfect angel" is not too different than the promise offered to us back home in my native USSR. Supposedly, American capitalism is supposed to be an improvement over that.
Finally, the author did not recommend a specific policy response, such as taxing the rich and redistributing their wealth his way. If anything, it seems that his professed ethos would lead him to turn that down. So, I don't know why the Trumpers are out in full force acting like someone's proposing to tax them and give their money to this guy.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 16.4 ms ] threadThe author's whole point is that he belongs to a large category of people with the same affliction. If the socioeconomic system of a developed and very wealthy country leads to this outcome for 47% of its people, the proper response is not to nitpick the author's life choices. I find this sort of hypocrisy is strongest from the notionally conservative types who claim to be excellent financial planners and managers of money. I'd like to see them hold up a mirror to their own financial choices for thirty seconds. It turns out we're all idiots because we spend on things we find important and subjectively value--things others don't value and don't find important, and will call you an idiot for prioritising.
"A decent shot at a good station in life--but only if you've been an inscrutably perfect angel" is not too different than the promise offered to us back home in my native USSR. Supposedly, American capitalism is supposed to be an improvement over that.
Finally, the author did not recommend a specific policy response, such as taxing the rich and redistributing their wealth his way. If anything, it seems that his professed ethos would lead him to turn that down. So, I don't know why the Trumpers are out in full force acting like someone's proposing to tax them and give their money to this guy.