Quote:
Originally Posted by MC
It's all make believe here in the US...roads, bridges, monuments, hospitals...everything has been created by fiat bullshit currency. It's funny what the US has done on loan more less...a loan they could never possibly pay back. Look at the vast empire we've built here...all on a farce. Yet it's done and here to stay so it's tangible.
The US is perhaps the most crafty, conniving nation in the history of the world. The country with the biggest GDP and most workers/output can conquer all with what fiat and fractional lending has done for the US. The fact that our currency is...scratch that HAS collapsed (more less) and is backed by air is proof that they have paid workers in defaulting IOU's it would seem. I'm beginning to wonder who the idiot is here though. Me who tries to live within my means while saving shrinking USD along the way, or the frivolous people? They are imitating what the US has done and which has worked so well to build an empire. They are buying things they can't afford just as the US government does decade after decade. I seemingly will have nothing left as the USD becomes stretched further and further thanks to inflation devaluing my unbacked savings vehicle. Those that drink their paychecks away will at least have had fun doing it. Those that are spend happy will have tangible items where I will have defunct currency in a defunct bank account. As they say...live & learn right? 
Rant back...please. I love to rattle cages and provoke thoughts. If I can turn just 1 person on to become a free thinker I'll be a happy man! 
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I agree with everything here and I'm a little surprised at the part about who's the bigger idiot. Not because I disagree but because it's impressive to see you think about the situation from the other perspective, the viewpoint of the "idiots".
I believe the answer lies in the ability to balance it all. If you go into super save mode and always put your pennies away for down the road, only buy what you can pay for in cash, and live well below your means, you may be missing out on enjoying some of the luxuries that we are blessed enough to have available. If you live everyday like your last and blow all your cash, go in debt to spoil yourself, and basically enjoy a lifestyle you can't even come close to affording, you're ensuring a lot of misery down the road.
But if you can balance the 2 ways of thinking, ideally you'll be able to retire a happy person and still enjoy the path to retirement. The problem is it's harder than just realizing this. After you come to this conclusion you need a method that will allow you get there. If you're working at McDonalds and supporting a family, you probably aren't going to be able to balance the 2 styles when you can't even afford to support your family. Luckily we have a vehicle that has as much potential as just about any method out there; the markets. So sacrifice a few years of your life for the big picture. You won't have to be the guy that is working his life away and being smart with his money only to end up wishing you drank it away and "enjoyed" it. You can be the guy you outsmarts the majority of the population and enjoys the nicer things in life while still being prepared for the future.
Very few people I know have the intelligence, discipline, perseverance, patience, etc. to paper trade everyday for what seems like forever. If a person like that can't make it in this world, then the only trait you need must be dumb luck. [/rant]