Lessons on wealth

America has gone through an experience with wealth in which I believe important lessons have been learned. Like a young professional athelete who becomes a millionaire overnight, America has experienced increased wealth in the last few decades, with the creation of many more millionaires, and billionaires becoming something not quite so rare. As a nation, many people became overly materialistic, from the overnight millionaires in the Dot.com boom to the real estate run up. Not everyone became a millionaire, but the increased wealth, even if a lot of it was paper-wealth, caused the nation to lose its head for awhile.

People began to move into houses way above their ability to pay for them, and possessions became way too important. In a sense, this recession has sobered up a lot of people and has caused much reflection on what wealth means. It can't be taken for granted, and it can't be a substitute for self-esteem. Hopefully these lessons will last and when the economy turns around people will be more level-headed and less superficially materialistic. We need new wealth in this country, but the right relationship to wealth can hep build character which will help avoid the over-heated activity which leads to crises. Not being carried away by wealth can also help people stay centered and spiritually healthy, realizing the importance of family, friends, community and building something real for the future.

My hope is that wealth is understood as the difference between real and unreal. Production is the only thing that builds true wealth. Staying focused on production, things that are real, will go a long way to prevent the illusion of wealth which government intervention and market manipulation can create out of thin air. America is hopefully reevaluating what's important -- this is an old problem, but one day people will take the answers to heart -- maybe this is the time.