Elusive Wapiti wrote a review of "Enjoy the Decline" over at The Spearhead. I mention it not just for self-promotion purposes, but because it is probably the best and most thorough review of the book. If you or somebody you know is wondering "what is it about, and do I want to buy it" Elusive's review is pretty much spot on.
An example:
By far the most useful aspect of this book, in my opinion, is in the
case that it makes for readers to realize that whatever bourgeois values
they may presently possess, there is a high probability those values
are maladaptive in the present economic and social climate. Up has
become down and right has become wrong in these last days
of the American republic. Work hard and save for retirement? Don’t be
ridiculous. Why save when the nation’s leaders gleefully debauch the
currency, pulling a “stealth Cyprus” to the tune of 8 – 10%
each year? Why delay gratification when there will likely be little /
no Social Security for Xers and younger generations, particularly if the
government will simply appropriate your savings through an outright
Cyprus/France/Hungary/Ireland/Argentina/Poland-style seizure? Why work hard, when doing so only qualifies you to be taxed even more to support an income redistribution scheme consuming more than 2/3 of the Federal budget, “spread [your hard-earned monies] around a little“, to bankroll parasites who didn’t earn it? Why hope for things to get better when unemployment is presently at around 14% and the labor force participation rate is at a 30-year low,
is trending downward, and has been so for decades? And why scrimp to
pay for college while the higher ed bubble continues to inflate, making
your parent’s advice to “get an education” in order to succeed nearly
financially suicidal and economically ill-advised in the new economic
reality? For that matter, why marry and have children? Silly rabbit,
very few men and women these days are equipped to be proper husbands and
wives. Moreover, 5,000 years of traditional Marriage 1.0 has been
subsumed by Marriage 2.0–and now, by homogamy–and is characterized by
easy divorce and the subsequent trafficking in former spouses (usu but
not always ex husbands) for the pecuniary interests of the state and
ex-wives.
You can find the book here.
4 comments:
I think this could be a book that could have steady sales for a long time. Things will get worse so the advice in this book will become more and more applicable. I work for the federal government. We are being furloughed and I am surprised how unprepared my coworkers are for a cut in income. Did they think the government could run yearly trillion dolllar deficits forever? They were all living paycheck to paycheck and had expensive house loans, car loans etc. People need to change their lifestyle and get used to living more frugally and books like this can help.
I work for the federal government. We are being furloughed and I am surprised how unprepared my coworkers are for a cut in income. Did they think the government could run yearly trillion dolllar deficits forever? They were all living paycheck to paycheck and had expensive house loans, car loans etc.
Yeah same here. I work for the feds as well and the furlough is the talk of the office - I actually heard one guy literally state that he had financed his entire life based on 100% of his income...and although he openly stated that, nearly *everyone* else in my office has implied it.
What kind of idiot takes out loans that require 100% of his/her income (often from both spouses working) to service, especially in bad economic times? I know people making $120K+ a year who are a paycheck away from bankruptcy and living on the street.
Freaking amazing...
To add one thing on to my last post:
It is idiots like these guys from my office that have created this ridiculous overwork culture with abusive, explotive employers.
This happens since employees have no bargaining power - they can't walk away from abusive, stupid employment arrangements for even a single paycheck - so employers can walk all over us - their shortsighted spendthrift ways screw all of us over.
Imagine how different things would be if the average person had even a few months of savings...
My copy of the book arrived two days ago. I devoured it in about four hours.
It is, without exaggeration, the best book I have ever read.
While I'm still cautious about some of the more 'libertarian' ideals, I am coming around. I guess the whole 'stopping being a mangina' thing is a process.
That aside, this is the wisest, most true, and most full of common f***ing sense book I have yet had the pleasure to read.
I recommend it to all.
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