Is there ever enough “Wealth “?

“The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things.. it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future.”

Read that quote again. Fairly profound, you’d think this was said by a leader, a philosopher or some other humanist of our time. No. Steve Forbes said this. I have no idea of context but for some reason, I think what came right after this was the quote “Pppppppfffffffftttttt… If you believe that crap, I have a bridge to sell you…”

Noel Whittaker a financial author and investment advisor said it better: “Becoming wealthy is like playing Monopoly.. the person who can accumulate the most assets wins the game.”

What constitutes as Wealthy or Rich today in Noel’s terms? Is there a bar that you can mark that says, as soon as I have accumulated this percentage of assets, or XYZ capital, or own some number of high profile items with a steady cash flow, that’s a mark for rich. Is an income of $400,000 a year rich?

This presidential political season and subsequent recession has created a climate of concern for many middle class to wealthy Americans that feel their choice for conspicuous consumption is being limited by new tax laws (Obama’s tax plan) and possibly as the Washington Post puts it “social proof”.

The Journal has an article today called Wealth-Less Effect: Earning Well, Feeling Otherwise; where those just over $250,000 income levels are feeling pinched to cut back and even “forced” to curb living habits they feel they deserve at their income levels. As the Journal puts it:

It is a tricky situation in which some Americans find themselves after a long boom: They are by no means struggling, compared with the 98% of Americans who make far less, but depending on where they live and the lifestyle choices they have made, they don’t necessarily feel rich, either. Worse, in their view, they are facing the same tax rates as those making millions. Some of the expenses are self-inflicted — like private-school costs and conspicuous consumption. Others, though, are unavoidable, like child-care costs, larger health-care deductibles and education expenses, especially college.

The reality is that the median income earner in America is just over $50,000:

2.245 Million households in American, had income greater than $250,000 in 2007 which is actually 1.9% of the total household earners in America. These articles try to convey these rich people are saddled with:

Our capitalistic society has created an environment of spenders regardless if those purchases are necessary or warranted. The majority of expenses, our flat screen TVs, luxury cars, designer clothes, immaculate multi-room houses all emulate a personal choice and even social entitlement within the circles of friends and community these people reside.

As Daniel Gross writes in Slate, those that earn $250,000 in Greenwich, CT would certainly look to be poor based on their neighbor’s affluence (median income levels of $231,138, however, income at that level in Mississippi would represent top earners of most towns (median income of $35,971).

I find it interesting that either by choice or social proof, these earners must finally now evaluate their spending habits and re-align them to reality. All Americans have fallen into this trap of spending beyond our means, and we’ve all checked our spending to accommodate an uncertain future. It’s, however, comical to me for those that make a considerable income more than my family must now whine that they no longer can consume as they so desire.

This mentality of entitlement permeates all classes and whether you’re poor or rich, what ever level of income you do have, never seems to be enough. I hope that Steve Forbes is right, and more people take stock in the human mind, spirit, and imagination for our future.

Ties are officially out of style for Americans

I’ve never been a fan of wearing a tie. My younger association of ties was my father, daily returning from work with the tie knotted loosely around his collard shirt. My tie fashion was hand me downs from him or rentals worn only on special occasions such as graduations, certain family holidays or proms. Coming out to NY for business the tie became a standard and finally moving here I started to build my collection.

Still, my original daily tie wearing job in NY was more painful for the environment than the wardrobe. Today I’m a tie when I have to for business. I have to encourage my engineer when he needs to wear one and often pre-qualify my meetings for appropriate casualness for the first introduction.

So it’s of applauding news I hear this story. I never knew there was a Men’s Dress Furnishings Association (the trade group that represents American tie makers) and they are now expected to shut down on Thursday. The Association has found the popularity of the tie diminished in American to only 6% of men wear one daily to work (down from 10% in 2002). When people start showing up to your yearly Tie praising meeting… tieless… you know it’s not going well for the longevity of the crew.

From the WSJ:

“Power is being able to dress the way you want,”

The problem for neckwear designers, as for regular guys, is that a tie no longer automatically conveys the authority and respectability it once did, even if it does cause some people to call you sir. In fact, it can be a symbol of subservience and of trying too hard.

Lee Terrill, president of the company’s neckwear group and an executive member of the trade association, is optimistic about the tie’s future and believes the current economic downturn is actually good for his company’s tie business. His reasoning: Laid-off workers will need new ties for job interviews.

Let’s hope I don’t need any new neck ties anytime soon.