The harsh-truth line for situations like this is that these people have been living beyond their means. Right living doesn't just mean that you can cover your e

The harsh-truth line for situations like this is that these people have been living beyond their means. Right living doesn't just mean that you can cover your expenses day to day. It also means that you have set enough aside to deal with the inevitable occasional hurdles life sets before you. If you can't deal with an illness or a job loss or a serious car repair, you only think you're doing all right, and a hard rain is gonna fall. Looking at that paragraph, I think it is basically true. Yes, you should set something aside for contingencies. But is it the whole truth? It is well known by now that people, even clever people, tend to discount the future heavily, to the point of unreason. It seems to me this is a case where some sort of institutional intervention is called for, to fight our own worst impulses.