Disney Is the Happiest Place on Earth, if You Can Afford It

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The economy didn’t make people go into debt! We all make choices in life. I don’t understand the mindset that “life just happens to me and I have no control over it.” Our parents lived through a much tougher era and were able to buy homes and retire comfortably. Of course, they never had a credit card and never bought something they couldn’t afford.
All three of our kids went to college and graduated without debt as well as my husband and I. And one of them is a physician. We saved for college with savings bonds for them and 529 plans, they worked and got scholarships. They didn’t choose expensive schools and they worked while in school. They were RAs so they got free room and board. And we are very strictly in the middle of middle class. It takes work and sacrifice, but it’s worth it that our kids didn’t start their lives in debt, and are now all home owners as well.

I think you might view things differently if you yourself were not in the position you were in. I have never felt like my parents were responsible to pay for my college education but neither parent, most especially my mother, was able to provide any financial assistance for college. It makes for a remarkedly different outlook. However, I will also say that my husband and my sister-in-law who did have some financial assistance (first year room and board paid for by their grandmother) though they also took out loans feels much the same as I do so perhaps it's also down to not viewing the world in a "pull up your bootstraps" mentality. To the context of the conversation ironically enough they also can't get through to their own mother on the realities of the situation who just repeats "well I went to college without debt so.." (for context she went to the same dang college as my husband, my sister-in-law and I; you'd think she be more in the know on tuition costs as well as you know the financial state of things over the years but alas nope).

 

[DCLMP]

People tend to forget we are consumer based economy. It's one thing to say people should tighten their belts and not spend, but have you really thought that one through? What's going to happen to the job market and the precious stock market if people stop spending. Our economy is dependent on people spending money they don't have. How do you think WDW is what it is?

As far the fiscal debt. It can't be paid off, it's not going to disappear and it's growing by the second.