Eat Your Spinach - Chapter 2: The Soup You Are In: The Scope of the Problem

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Richard A. Howard is a principal contributor to buyupside.com. He is a retired college instructor, technical writer, experienced retail investor and author of BUY ON THE UPSIDE - Outsider Advice and Encouragement for the Stock Investor

John C. Gordon is a retail investor and author of BUY ON THE UPSIDE - Outsider Advice and Encouragement for the Stock Investor.

Chapter 2: The Soup You Are In: The Scope of the Problem

In this chapter, we make the quantitative case that unbridled consumerism
and poor saving habits (arising from reliance on a future bull market,
house value increase, government sponsored savings plans, low interest rates, easy borrowing, or working longer), insure that you face a risk-laden and insecure financial future.

Unchecked consumerism seems to lead to larger things. In the United States, average house size, automobile weight and, indeed, human weight ( for young and old) have increased rapidly in the recent past. Aside from the minor logic that fat people may need bigger houses and cars, this trend probably is best explained by a strong general desire to spend rather than save. Indeed, in 2005 the aggregate American savings rate turned negative. This may be because the bull stock market that ran from 1982 to 2000 has given people a sense of financial security and the hope of some similar wealth-creating market run in their future. It may also have some elements of "live as though there is no tomorrow, because there may not be one" left over from the cold war and buttressed by apocalyptic visions of the future from environmentalists and social critics.

Where to Buy

You can order this book in hardcover or paperback from XLibris.