There's almost nothing I want to buy that costs between "iPad pro" and "mansion with no mortgage." This is why middle class is doomed.
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In developed economies the three things that used to be worth taking on consumer debt for: education, car and home, defined the middle class
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None of the 3 is worth the debt anymore. Especially with rising deflation risk. There is no middle class without lifespan-scale debt.
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I used to think upper and lower classes were defined by voluntary and involuntary risk taking respectively, middle class by risk aversion.
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What actually happens in the name of middle-class "security" is that their share of societal risk exposure is converted to long-term debt
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This is a terrible idea, since in the conversion from risk to long-term debt, thinking is shut down. Rest of society has to think harder
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that logic assumes risk aversion it's an exact, singular state of being. It's not. It's a spectrum of intensity colored by many biases.
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Does lower-class realize this is state of play? Otherwise, still makes sense for upper- to subsidize middle-class as carrot.
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