[so_real]

Agree with all you've said. On this point, "But having said all that I don’t care what other people do with their money.", keep in mind those folks vote and historically they've voted to take money out of your pocket and gift it to them. If only we could dispense with the financial "safety net" government *claims* to provide, but does not, and should not. A lifetime of poor financial decisions should be financially painful.

[lepton]

The feedback mechanism needs to be short enough that people can figure out the causation for their lack of wealth - but a surprising portion of the people can’t figure it out why at the end of a pay period they have no money from the beginning of it, nor how to reduce risk from minor volatility.