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It makes a lot of sense actually. Poor people are not allowed to go into all that much debt. If you have somebody who is $2M in debt, chances are they are weal
by lumberjack 11y ago
It makes a lot of sense actually.
Poor people are not allowed to go into all that much debt. If you have somebody who is $2M in debt, chances are they are wealthy and were only allowed to accumulate all that much debt because of their influence and reputation or some other kind of leverage.
The average graduate who is $40K to $50K is not actually poorer than the homeless beggar who is in the green. They don't live as poor of a life and they have the potential to earn for more.
- mikeash 11y agoI'd say that's an argument for counting (discounted) future earnings as part of current wealth, but not for ignoring debt. Sure, that student isn't poorer than a beggar. But they are poorer than their classmate who has the same degree, same skills, and same financial situation in all other respects, but has no debt. Somebody with a $500,000 house and a $400,000 mortgage and no savings isn't five times wealthier than somebody living an apartment with $100,000 in savings.