> I was told (manipulated?) that having things, better cars, better equipment, luxury, wealth, was the right thing to do. When I grew up, I had one pen, one me

> I was told (manipulated?) that having things, better cars, better equipment, luxury, wealth, was the right thing to do. When I grew up, I had one pen, one mechanical pencil, one bottle of ink, and etc , at any time. They were enough, and I never felt inconvenience. Having moved to the US, I was shocked to see how many one-time things. Parents buy dozens of pencils for every kid every few months. Hundreds of god-knows-what in stores like Party City. Kids get them via goodie bags in birthday parties and then throw them away quickly. It seems, well, just too much and unnecessarily wasteful. And isn't "luxury" meant to send a message to beholders? I failed to see the need to pay for such message at all. If you're rich, you're rich. You don't need anyone else to know unless others knowing that gives you an advantage. On the other hand, I have to admit that premiere goods drastically improve the quality of life. A quiet car is much more pleasant to drive than a noisy one. An equipment that simply does not break down gives me peace of mind. A powerful air conditioner is a godsend in an extreme weather (most of the time a fan is good enough, though). The top-line MBP is certainly more enjoyable than the cheap model Boeing gave to its engineers. Frankly, I sometimes don't know where the line is.