Where Did I Go Wrong?

Reader Larry E. writes:

So, where did I go wrong?

I wonder about this. I know people that try to “live for today” and I always thought they were foolish. I was busily saving for retirement. Saving and investing to provide security for my family rather than buying the next boat or RV.

Clearly I was wrong.

What I should have done was take out a couple hundred k in equity when I refinanced. This way I’d currently be upside down on my loan and maybe get me a little of that bailout. AND have that boat and RV.

What I should have done it take a nice trip to the Bahamas instead of stuffing money in my 401k so it could be stolen while regulators looked the other way.

What I should have done is by a nice motorcycle or that new flat screen instead of putting money in my savings account where it could actually evaporate as the government devalues the dollar (and therefore the value of my labor) by passing out billions like candy.

I've had similar thoughts myself. Trouble is, the largesse is unsustainable if too many people act on such feelings. Printing money (whether we do it, or the government does it) can't create real wealth. Rewarding the idiots and cheaters, whether with freshly printed money or with money stolen from actual producers, can't create real wealth either. These truths are so self-evident that I can't conceive of anyone denying them – and indeed, the Obama administration and their fellow leftists don't deny them with their words.

But they do with their actions...