Re: Thanks, Roger and, uh, Ted.
How can you contribute to your society if you DON'T have the discipline to ER? Do we confuse consumption with contribution?!?
Thanks, Roger, you've forced a good self-assessment thread on the rest of us. It's probably overdue. And although you could make it so, ER is not all about "me".
Ted, I spent 24 years defending your right to voice your opinions, so don't hide behind your DD-214. Spending a few years in a combat zone does not morally entitle you to ridicule ANYONE-- although I honor and appreciate your decision to serve. Now stop acting like a grumpy old veteran before you ruin our reputations. And go read Hack Hackworth's biography if you feel another one of those posts coming on.
ER does not imply "dropping out", and those who do so may just end up dropping into a coffin earlier than their working peers. ER is an opportunity to focus on the important things instead obsessing over next quarter's profits or weekly meetings.
So Ted, let's extend your GW analogy to Ben Franklin. He made his stash at the age of 42-- although with his apprentice years, it still worked out to 30 years of work. He DID drop out-- to invent many wonderful things including a practical electrical battery, a musical instrument, and the lightning rod. He was the first to chart the Gulf Stream current. His weather observations jump-started the science of meteorology. He developed libraries, post offices, and firefighters. Oh, yeah, I think he was a pretty good political moderator at a couple of caucuses, and he helped a young impractical spendthrift draft a pretty good Declaration. The vast majority of his contributions came after he chucked his career for "unemployment". I think that his hedonistic activities are merited by his contributions, even if he did pursue both with tremendous vigor.
BTW, GW ain't exactly a paragon of selfless virtue either. His decision to run the Continental Army has been enshrined in the Consultant's Hall of Fame. He deliberately "gave up" his salary because he asked to be compensated for his "expenses"-- and he grew rich as a result of filing his reimbursement vouchers with the Cont Congress. So many patriots were gouging the Army & govt on pricing contracts that one of the Army's hottest flag officers-- Nathaniel Greene-- had to spend most of the war straightening out logistics instead of leading soldiers. And Robert Morris, one of America's richest men, engaged in his nation-building activities as a means of protecting his assets (so to speak). While all of our Founding Fathers did wonderful things, they did so with a healthy dose of self-interest added to their altruism. Thank goodness.
I consume less in ER than I did while I was working, especially when you consider the savings on stress & health care. Those who are able to ER must demonstrate the ability to lead a productive non-consumptive lifestyle, and ER is their reward for this economic proficiency. It's also a tremendous opportunity for community service that will greatly outweigh the "economic drag" of our leisure pursuits.
Am I more productive in ER? Well, my investment returns are higher because I have more time to spend on educating myself and on planning ahead. Without "workplace" stress my health is better, so I'm not consuming medical resources. I have the time to prepare better meals, so my diet is better. I consume more than my fair share of exercise equipment and ocean waves, but no one was using them anyway. So I think I'm much more economically productive than my "working" peers-- you just can't measure it in terms of $$ or other traditional workplace benchmarks.
Am I contributing socially? Spouse and I are much closer to our pre-teen kid, who can tell that we're way easier to live with and who even voluntarily engages us in productive discourse. We actually have time to brainstorm school research questions and to tutor academic problems. We've been able to volunteer at our local school, with Scouting, in a local non-profit, and in our neighborhood-- we never would have had the time during our working years. We're always available to lend a hand on the street or with an elderly homeowner. Neighborhood latchkey kids drop by our house for help with the blessings of their working parents. We're assisting a young adult with room & board, a GED, and college plans, something the parents wish they could support but aren't able to do right now. I did NONE of that while I was "working".
So maybe all this uneconomic "drop out" activity is why I can't seem to "exploit" my cash-producing opportunities that I alluded to in the earlier post. Maybe I'm too busy improving the community with my brain, my commitment, and my time instead of with my paycheck and my taxes. I've been far more productive WITHOUT a job, and I look forward to spending the vast majority of my life in unemployment.
Roger, if ER is "me" oriented, then I suspect that your greatest contributions still lie ahead of you. It's just a matter of ditching that pesky job and being able to focus your time on your talents...