So to be fair to her, I'd say she is not reacting to a forum like this, but rather some of these ridiculous FIRE bloggers and subreddits. Of course you don't need $20M, but reality is even $2M is not the same if it is in a traditional vs Roth vs taxable. $2M invested is very different than $2M equity in your primary residence.
Other than this forum, I find far too much of the FIRE conversations act like its super simple and you just get to number and quit, its thats simple.. vs. most of us have complex spreadsheets, looking into tax law, created a tax plan and withdrawal plan, know all the details of the ACA and how SS is calculated and have budgets that include home and care replacements and a plan for LTC. Most of which that is all glossed over and often thought of as "not a big deal".
Yes you can delay paying taxes and get a huge ACA subsidy but you should also have accounted for the tax consequences later on as then you may have actually needed $3-4M instead.
