re: #544 marjoriemoon

Yes, but I would mention that there are millions of people who got caught up in this downward spiral through no fault of their own. The cost of living rose while wages and bonuses did not…

Hmmm… usually I avoid the concept of “whose fault is it?” if only because an adult (assuming they are mentally capable of taking care of themselves) is by default the person responsible for themselves.

It can’t be any other way.

Perhaps a more fruitful question to ask would be: “how did our society get into the state where otherwise productive people have seen their ability to provide and plan for themselves diminished?”

This isn’t just about “self help” or “individualism”, etc.

Rather, I am concerned that many of my fellow citizens make decisions while being very poorly informed. The amount of duplicity and deceit out there (from financial institutions, advertisers, the internet, talk radio, etc. and perhaps even government organs) is huge.

E.g., real estate agents are (IMO) worse than car salesmen, if for no other reason than the amount of debt is so much greater.

We can go into a long list of proposed causes on why people make so many poor choices, or why poor choices are made for people when they are young… but I’m not sure it would get us anywhere unless we could narrow the topic.

WRT “healthcare”, I’ve yet to see many of the talking-heads ponder the thought that healthcare ought to be expensive, since it is so important and we have progressed so far since the 19th century and now have the means of greatly extending life. There are a few (e.g., Mickey Kaus), but many people are acting like expensive healthcare is inherently bad. Perhaps it is just the nature of the beast?

As we, as a society, push back the date of death of individuals does it not make sense that such an undertaking would use a considerable amount of our resources?