The Tobaccomen of Glasgow and the Myth of Scottish Thrift
Thrift is the bleakest of all the virtues, especially in an era of consumerism, credit cards, and shopaholics. It is the perpetual spoilsport, refusing to rise to the bait of advertising, or the need to party, or to relieve the tedium, or simply to keep up with the Joneses. It makes parental authority grate even more when, instead of being allowed to spend our allowance or a birthday check on candy or a new baseball glove, we are told to sequester it in that hated instrument of personal fiscal restraint, the savings account. Then when we grow up, governmental authority does the same thing, forcing us to invest whatever money we have left after the tax bill in a dismal array of IRA's, SEP's, and 401(k)s.
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