I was playing poker at the Aria the
other night. At my table was a group of young men. Just out of
college, MBA's in hand and ready to conquer whatever life had to
offer. They were on summer internships and volunteer programs. I
looked and listen to the swagger and confidence in purpose they
possessed. They were certain of the path, had faith in their
abilities, and expressed a hint of superiority in their conviction.
Year after year there has been a new
crop of these devotees. Under the influence of an illusion.
Dedicated to to the myth. The American dream, fame and fortune, a
pot of gold. The devotion to the possible, true believers in the
upward mobility mantra. Willing to invest most of their life and
energy in the pursuit of comfort, luxury and material positions.
What a tune this piper plays.
I took this path once. Spending all
day at a full time job and going to school at night. Getting my
degree, becoming a professional. Maximizing my potential as a tax
paying unit. Then working long hours to become successful and
acquire wealth.
I soon found that I could not stop.
Every month there was a car payment. A house payment. Credit cards
and daycare with dinners out and the right clothes, a new cell phone.
It never stopped and neither could I. I became a prisoner of my
possessions and life style. The Golden Handcuffs.
It makes me wonder how every generation
falls under the same spell. In the 1950 a blue collar worker like a
carpenter could support a family with six kids in a very comfortable
home and the wife could stay home with the kids. In the Sixties and
seventies the same life style required the wife to work. That
changed to the point where both the husband and wife worked but they
had nothing left to put away for savings. Now, both the husband and
wife work, but they have to go into debt to have the same life style.
I was talking to them about the future
and one of them commented that I must be one of the people who are
not better off today than I was four years ago. I responded that no
one is better off now than they were four years ago. As a citizen
taxpayer in America I am ultimately responsible for the national
debt. My share has gone up dramatically in the past four years. I
look around at all the people I know that have lost all the equity in
their homes. This was their future wealth. There investment for the
golden years. All that wealth is gone. I believe that we are all
interconnected. When millions of people lose billions of dollars it
has an effect on everyone.
A politician will tell you whatever he
thinks you want to hear in order to get elected. That is the sad
truth. At the same time a person hears what they want to hear. They
disregard the rest because they need to believe that everything is
okay. It doesn't matter who is in office, we have gone past the
tipping point. There is no way to stop process and it will
ultimately crash.
During this conversation I was reminded
of Paul Simon's song American Tune. The truth is that when I think
of all the bright young minds that have come and gone, I can't help
but wonder what went wrong. All with the will, intelligence and
energy to make a difference, nothing ever changes. “But it's all
right for we lived so well so long.”
