Re:Math says it bad, but not quite AS bad (Score 1)

This is not completely accurate. Probably unlike most posters here I was actually alive and kicking in 1970. The real difference was EXPECTATIONS. From my neighborhood: In 1970 many households only had one car. Most households had one or two TVs (a second set generally an old B&W model kicked to the basement). If you had a friend with his own TV in his room he was RICH! Cable TV was rare. Except for people who had been in the military, people didn't travel all that far on vacations and almost exclusively traveled by car. People did not eat out all the time. Most people actually SAVED for what they wanted and needed. Homes were very modest in size (go look at most developments that were new in 1970 - those houses wouldn't satisfy today's McMansion set.) In general people lived much more modest lives in 1970. Today if we don't have the LATEST flat screen TV on the wall with the full HD and Movie package on cable, we throw a hissy fit. Everyone travels on cruises and airplanes for leisure. Many people vacation in Europe or more exotic sites. Every household that wants them has at least two cars. New houses are gigantic and a THREE car garage is considered the minimum for a "decent" home. in 2008 we live like rich people, but we aren't rich people. So we borrow and spend, borrow and spend to maintain our standard of living. Then we complain about how wonderful things were in the past. If most people of 2008 could live with what we had in 1970, they'd do just fine. Our expectations for our lifestyle won't allow that. Hence we need two incomes and still can't keep up with the Joneses, who somehow have figured out how to borrow more than us. As a nation and as a household we must all learn to live within our means. Borrowing should only be for capital investments (public: highways, other infrastructure, etc. personal: a house, a business).