The Big Short #5

People in the North Shore, particularly Deerfield families, find it very important to make the most money and by the nicest things. People brag about extravagant vacations, new cars, million dollar houses, and even their kids' school and athletic records. Very rarely do I see the intangibles come into play when people boast about themselves. Instead of families coming closer together during hard times, it almost becomes a free for all between who can survive and still buy things, and the people who are forced to downgrade. On my street in the past 3 years, there has been one family that downgraded by moving to Michigan. There have been about 5 new houses. On the outside looking in, one may think of that as a good thing, when in reality it brings even more competitiveness. One of the great things about America is that we have a very large middle class. This is one of the key points that The Big Short touched on. The author said multiple times that the key to America's past success was its ability to maintain a stable middle class. The way in which wall street has been working is very inefficient. Very few people get rich, and most people lose a lot. The recession brought small businesses (which is one of if not the biggest provider of jobs), which forced a lot of people out of work. Overtime, there became a larger gap between he upper and lower classes. There was very good recent news saying that the unemployment rate was at a 2 year low. As long as people are occupied and in a stable job, America will continue to rise up to the country it should be. The book's message was clear: Stop living in the wealth of the past, and move on creating wealth for the future.