I think that talking about financial independence requires a sort of implicit elitism which is difficult to avoid. Basically, it's obviously the case that _eve

I think that talking about financial independence requires a sort of implicit elitism which is difficult to avoid. Basically, it's obviously the case that _everyone_ can't do this in an instantaneous fashion. Consider - if everyone works for 10 years in total, then in the stable state (no pop growth) at any point in time roughly 15% of people are serving the other 85%. The claim, is more like "if you try, you can do it". As in, a randomly selected individual is likely to be able to push themselves into a higher income group and cut their budget, if they focus on it. I think this sort of problem plays out all over. An individual can be paid well if they study computer science and get a job at a decent company. The nation can't. It's a logical impossibility.