‘The illusion of wealth can encourage people to take on more debt’

‘The era of the illiquid millionaire is here’

Allison Schrager at Bloomberg

“Almost one-fifth of U.S. households have a net worth of more than $1 million,” says Allison Schrager. But “most of that wealth is on paper.” Americans “invest in markets” via “retirement accounts,” but these are “often worth less” than “other kinds of financial assets.” The second “big source of wealth is housing,” but a “house, too, is illiquid,” and selling one “involves substantial transaction costs.” If “20% of the population is worth $1 million,” wealth “does not mean what it used to.”

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‘Teapot Dome. Watergate. They’re nothing compared to this.’

Jacob Silverman at The New York Times

“While campaigning, Trump announced his cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial” and his “namesake memecoin,” says Jacob Silverman. Trump and his family have since “accrued billions of dollars in paper wealth through crypto ventures.” With World Liberty, Trump has “created a powerful vehicle for those seeking influence.” It’s unprecedented: No past “executive branch scandals” featured this “scale of mixing of personal and government interests, much less the sheer accumulation of profit.”

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‘Get over yourself and throw a party’

Gwen Egan at The Boston Globe

“Only 3.9% of Americans hosted or attended a social event on an average weekend or holiday in 2024,” says Gwen Egan. To blame: the “rampant self-optimization culture that tells people to avoid situations with social friction” and “influencers who glorify solo nights spent at home.” This “hyper-individualistic self-care culture says the efforts we make purely for the sake of the happiness of others are worth less than the efforts we make toward improving ourselves.” Socialization is a “basic human need.”

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‘Trump’s plan to pay the military during the government shutdown should worry every American’

Christopher Mirasola at the San Francisco Chronicle

While it “may seem laudable to pay military personnel who otherwise would have missed this week’s paycheck due to the government shutdown, this act was a brazen repudiation of the Constitution’s construct of separated powers,” says Christopher Mirasola. By “usurping Congress’ power to fund the armed forces, the president is attacking the foundations of our constitutional protections against executive tyranny,” all while directing an “ever-expanding campaign of military force against” U.S. cities.

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