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| Laffer: The Age of Prosperity Is Over |
| 2008-10-27 |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 My wife and I got into financial trouble when I first retired from the Air Force. Since then, we have lived without credit cards, and the only long-term debt we have is a line of credit we used to finance our daughter's wedding and buying essentials for them. Credit that's too "easy" to get, and too tempting not to use, is the source of a lot of this nation's problems, and not just with housing. There was a statistic being thrown around a couple of years ago that the average household had $30,000 in credit card debt. Unless you're making over $20/hour, you don't clear that much money in a year's time. For some reason, most kids today can't understand that, even when you spell it out for them. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-10-27 14:41 |
| #4 s me should be some. The o key didn't get the memo... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-10-27 10:58 |
| #3 That's it. Going in debt to buy shiny luxury crap is out, though s me will stubbornly refuse to get the memo. Among the most beloved of the shiny crap is ever growing government entitlements. Guess who will be most stubborn about ignoring the memo... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-10-27 10:57 |
| #2 Debt is potential wealth. Debt is your future wealth used NOW. Debt used for purposes that do not raise your utility/productivity more than the interest payments makes you poorer. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-10-27 10:46 |
| #1 Actually, the age of false prosperity is over. Since WWII, the US and much of the world has been behaving like a teenager who has just moved out of their parents home, and has credit cards for the first time. A spending spree. And their credit cards are maxed out. And the bills are coming due. But this does not mean the end of prosperity. It just means that we all must learn to live within our means while paying off our debts. FY 2008 federal tax revenues are about $2.6T. This year, the government spent $2.73T. Next year, tax revenue might be as little as $2T. But if you have to live within your means, and we do, there is no alternative. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-10-27 10:04 |