The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable.
The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal.
Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about how to use and harness money.
Sixty-two scholars have signed on to a report by the Institute for American Values and other think tanks called, “For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture,” examining the results of all this. This may be damning with faint praise, but it’s one of the most important think-tank reports you’ll read this year.
By Richard B. Wagner, JD, CFP®
I recommend you read both the article and the report. They each represent good work and they will help you understand what is happening.
A Week In Our Lives By Richard B. Wagner, JD, CFP® October 9, 2008., followed by October 10, 2008, today, and preceded by a week of gut wrenching negativity. All of these days are all “one of those days” for people in financial services. The belly hurts. Friends hurt. Clients hurt. It is scary out
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Eyes Bloodshot, Doctors Vent Their Discontent By SANDEEP JAUHAR, M.D. Published: June 17, 2008 “I love being a doctor but I hate practicing medicine,” a friend, Saeed Siddiqui, told me recently. Doctors are working harder and faster to maintain income, even as staff salaries and costs of living continue to increase. Some have resorted
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Deep Economy The Wealth Of Communities And The Durable Future By Bill McKibben. Reviewed by Mike Ryan CFP® The conservation movement began as a conservative initiative. Teddy Roosevelt established the National Park system and set in motion the basic tenants of environmental protection that would be the policy of the United States. When a marine
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