Florida is now the 2nd most financially distressed state in the US

[Brad]

Florida is now the 2nd most financially distressed state in the US — topped only by Texas

https://news.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/florida-now-2nd-most-financially-190300951.html


Why am I not surprised?

[rcjordan]

The maga buzz now is that they want to nuke property taxes.

[Brad]

I ain't moving to either of those two states. Ever.

The article has a top 5 list of distressed states which is interesting.

[ergophobe]

>> As for the least financially distressed states? They are Hawaii, Vermont

I don't know what VT is like these days, but when I moved from VT, I was surprised at how much money people elsewhere (CA but even WI) spent to keep up appearances. At least back then, there was still an ingrained "Yankee" mentality in VT - rich people in economy cars.

What surprises me about the least/most distressed lists is that they do not seem to track with housing prices.

[buckworks]

>> rich people in economy cars

That would help them to be rich.

People become rich by investing in things that APpreciate, not DEpreciate.

A car is a depreciating asset. Beware of "too much car".

[rcjordan]

>Beware of "too much car".

In the wholesale biz, we called it the "Chrome Syndrome."  We'd see it repeatedly, plumber pulls up with a big, new work truck.  In a month or two, he's start going delinquent on his account.  This was such a telltale sign that I asked the countermen to let me know if a customer pulled up in a new rig.

[Brad]

>rich people in economy cars

A friend of mine was a salesman selling investments to rich people way back when, and he divided his clients into two categories: New Money and Old money.  New Money drove Cadillacs, Lincoln's, etc. wore Rolex watches and new flash suits. Old Money drove Buick's, had middle of the road watches and suits that had been around for awhile.  Everything good quality but understated. 

[ergophobe]

>> Old money

When I was doing my doctoral research in Europe, a professor invited me to dinner at his house. He picked me up in his modest, low-end Renault. I brought a decent ($25) bottle of wine.

We arrived at the house. A very normal sized house I thought until we drove by it and he explained that was the gatehouse where staff lived. Then we continued on to the chateau, in the family since the 17th century. I pulled out my bottle of wine. He said thank you, and then said, "but when we have guests, we like to serve wines from our vineyard." I looked out over acres of vines. He is, literally, a seigneur (lord) with a title bought by his ancestors in the early 1600s.

As a good Calvinist, it simply wouldn't do to drive a Ferrari. That was mostly what was going on in Vermont. People didn't drive economy cars in order to get rich or stay rich. It wasn't an economic calculation so much as an aversion to things that are flashy and say, "Look at me." As it happens, that aversion makes it easier to stay rich but in a sense, the economy car is a secondary consequence and the wealth is a tertiary consequence.

It does have its downsides though, like an inability to spend on oneself and an inability to talk honestly about money.