>Incidentally, I think the proposition about Americans thinking of themselves
>as potential millionaires is quite silly. It certainly doesn't describe any
>significant part of the total population. Some years ago there was a poll
>asking people how much greater an income they needed to satisfy their needs
>and desires. It turned out that _every_ single income level gave the same
>answer: 5% increase would be sufficient. This was true both of millionaires
>and those on relief.
>
>We are dealing with the unfortunate habit of u.s. leftists to sneer a the
>U.S. rather than at capitalism as a system.
>
>Carrol
I can't recall the survey that was posted here years ago. I was thinking of it some months ago, looked it up and discovered that it's not a uniquely u.s. thing. E.g., in one survey 21% of USers thought they would likely have a net worth of a million dollars in 10 years. (I can see how people would think this, especially with housing the way it once was.) 29% of Australians believed they'd become millionaires within 10 years. Only 8% of UK population think it's likely.
<http://surveys.ap.org/data%5CGfK%5CAP-GfK%20Poll%20Aug%202011%20FINAL%20Topline_CNBC_ALL%20countries_TRUNCATED.pdf>http://surveys.ap.org/data%5CGfK%5CAP-GfK%20Poll%20Aug%202011%20FINAL%20Topline_CNBC_ALL%20countries_TRUNCATED.pdf
I also wondered if they'd delved into other measures of what people actually mean by rich. This survey also points out that the numbers are influenced by age of respondents, with young people being much more optimistic, become more negative in their assessment by the time they are in their thirties. Here's this for the U.S.
<http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/do-you-think-you-will-be-rich-one-day-1.aspx>http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/do-you-think-you-will-be-rich-one-day-1.aspx
(It was hard to tell, but I didn't think Billy O'Connor was referring to this survey material.