> I think we're capable of holding two thoughts in
> our heads simultaneously.
>
> I take Carrol's point that the absolute financial
> security that comes with great wealth is starkly
> different from all who lack such wealth, whether
> they make $20K or $150K a year.
Except that I can't see how somebody living in Columbus, Ohio and making $100k a year and debt free other than his mortgage can fail to save 30k a year or more, which after a few years constitutes, if not absolute security, a fairly substantial cushion.
Granted, most such people do fail to save, but that has to do with the peculiar consumption patterns of most rich Americans, like the "need" to discard automobiles after 1/5 of their useful lives, the "need" to live only with people of your income level, the "need" for 3000 sq ft. McMansions, the need to send your kids to horrendously expensive taxpayer-financed private schools (some people refer to them as "good public schools"), etc. Being an idiot doesn't make you any less rich.
-- Enrique Diaz-Alvarez Office # (607) 255 5034 Electrical Engineering Home # (607) 272 4808 112 Phillips Hall Fax # (607) 255 4565 Cornell University mailto:enrique at ee.cornell.edu Ithaca, NY 14853 http://peta.ee.cornell.edu/~enrique