From 1999 to 2012 the percentage of Americans on antidepressants increased from 6.8% to 13%, according to a report published this week by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Why is that? We can only assume until the next data report that the trend is continuing to move in an upward direction.
Today, I would like to address the problem we have as a society in its current form. Our problem is that our economic health is becoming matched with our physical health as a population. We have a consumerist society; an economy that relies on credit and debt. Over-consumption is our biggest problem. Overspending and living beyond ones means has now put the entire generation of Gen-Xer's and possibly Millennials into a position where they will most likely die with debt on their balance sheets. Baby-boomers, on the other hand, are statistically screwed as of now, and it's playing out in current time as I type this.
Baby boomers are turning 65 at a pace of roughly 10,000 per day. More worrisome, over a third of baby boomers have saved less than $50,000 for retirement, and just 15% have accumulated nest eggs north of $500,000, an amount that could generate the kind of retirement income necessary to maintain a retiree's standard of living.Those figures suggest that a significant proportion of baby boomers could end up struggling to pay their bills once they retire. Financial planners recommend withdrawing no more than 4% of retirement savings per year for expenses, and at that rate, the baby boomers with accounts smaller than $100,000 will produce less than $4,000 in retirement income annually.If they withdraw more than 4%, they run a greater risk of outliving their money, yet, it seems very likely that's what many baby boomers will be forced to do. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age-65 or older household spent $44,664 last year. Author Aaron Clarey has recently published a book titled Poor Richards Retirement, which illustrates this huge problem and fixes it with solutions.
What a lot of people don't realize is that when it comes to socking away money or saving money, the most overlooked thing is how you're spending your money. As I have stated in previous blog posts, modern society and all of its institutions are currently overvalued and are not worth investing in. CorporateLand has become a toxic and petty environment where the focus has shifted away from making money to making the workplace "comfortable, diverse, a 'safe-space,'" so that certain genders can be allotted costly entitlements and receive a booster-chair; so that they can maybe perform at the same level as their savvier peers. Marriage is such a financial risk for men (Uncle Nick will let you know about that!) that you are better off going to the casino and dropping half your net worth and assets on RED and let it ride. College/University's are now becoming mills of worthless degrees and increasingly the indoctrination centers for misguided thinking and socialist hives of unproductive pursuits (that add nothing to GDP), laziness, and parasitical agendas. People today, especially the younger generations, are consuming more than they produce or give back into the economy; continuing to borrow more money, other peoples money: tax-payer (producers) money.
The modern consumer of goods and entertainment is no different than the modern consumer of junk food. We have an increasingly obese society when it comes to health. In tandem with that, we can see parallels with regards to the consumption of materials. People are overweight in debt/spending and are not exercising fiscal responsibility. We have generations now that were either not taught basic economics, or, are just willfully ignorant about how an economy is supposed to work.
When you consume too much food (bad food to be exact) you will become fat, stagnant, and your mobility/freedom will be significantly reduced in all areas of your life. Your attractiveness to the opposite sex will diminish, for one. Your health will be at risk; greater chance at an early death. You will become less productive to society due to your physical handicap.
It's the exact same thing with debt/overspending. Debt is a huge weight; a ball and chain around your leg. It will significantly reduce your mobility in life; where you can travel to, what you can invest in (credit rating will be poor). Debt is the sign of a person who has been consuming beyond their means. It is a red flag and a sign of poor financial judgement. The only reason one should take on debt is in the form of a investment that will have a statically positive return on investment. College/University can be a worthy investment if you need to take out a loan. However, you need to pick a major or field that is in DEMAND, so that you can get a return on equity spent. Majoring in 16th century lesbian poetry isn't a wise investment. Majoring in Women's Studies (i.e "Look Ma, I have a vagina!") or any other hyphenated, naval gazing studies, isn't going to yield a job that will produce GDP (i.e government jobs/non-profits add nothing to the economy, by the way, as your paycheck comes from producers/tax payers).
Majoring in STEM, or Computer sciences would be a far worthier pursuit, for example. In addition, becoming an entrepreneur is also highly encouraged, as you will be adding to GDP because you will be employing people...which creates new jobs and keeps money moving! That's how an economy grows and how people in that economy succeed. However, the fast majority of people wont do this because only the 10-20% of society will do this (the hustlers, movers and shakers) the rest will likely stay stagnant and make bad choices in life. That's usually how it has gone ever since mankind has been around.
The best thing for the wise, the economists, the hustlers, movers and shakers to do in this over-bloated society, is to hunker down and strategically deploy capital where it's necessary: Minimalism. Theoretically, one should be a minimalist through good times and bad. It is best to practice minimalism during the good times (the boom times) in order to be better off and secure for when the bust/bubbles burst in economy. It's better to wait in the weeds until there is blood in the streets; then you can raid and snatch up assets at discounted prices! Fire Sale! The same wisdom goes with the stock-market, housing market, or any other market that has a commodity in demand ( this applies to sexual markets as well).
Life is pretty simple, if you make it that way. The vast majority of people, today, seem to like punishment for some reason or are masochistic? Life is a mountain to climb (you should have a goal at the end of it). Now, why would you pack a bunch of rocks into your backpack if you are climbing a mountain? Why wouldn't you pack the necessary things that you need in order to reach the summit? The guy who only packs what he needs to survive will be faster, leaner, meaner and will hit that summit when everyone else is back at Phase 1;wishing they had packed oxygen, food, and shelter instead of useless rocks.
The problem for the guys who reach the summit before 80% of the group is that it can be lonely sometimes. It's always lonely at the top when you move faster than the majority of society, because you are not average. Society today is in love with the average. That's the problem. If society caters and encourages average-ness, then it will be average, or worse; in decline.
The solution is to surround yourself and travel with like-minded people who can keep up with you. That way, when you all reach the top you can cheers each-other, while at the same time laugh at the people who didn't listen to your advice (bring oxygen and NECESSITIES) while they struggle and bemoan you from a far. Your right to laugh is earned, it is not a privilege. Colleges and modern society may reward and prop up the stupid, but in the end, reality rewards the smart, handsomely.
Enjoy the decline from the summit, my friends.