When I was younger I was talking with a man from Chile. He said that his father was very proud that he was able to buy a car. He had worked for three years walking to and from work saving up the $28,000 necessary to buy the car. There were no automobile loans in Chile. You had to pay for the car outright.
This was admirable by any measure, and it is fortunate that we didn’t have to do it. It cost at least double in Chile to buy this car than in the United States . . and maybe triple if you consider the time-value of money in an economy.
The amount of productivity lost to an economy over three years (in this case), is staggering.
Maybe that’s why there have been so many immigrants into the United States.
And, maybe, that’s why I needed a bypass operation this year! 😊