I admit that I sometimes wince a bit when I read Ms. Sullivan’s critique’s of feminism. While certainly not an ideological feminist, the self-reliant, strong willed and independent Ms. Sullivan is the most succesful practical feminist I know. This is not said with malice but with love and respect born of a 21 year friendship with Terry in which I have, from time to time, been allowed the privilege and delight of keeping company with her.

Nevertheless,on the topic of thrift I have no quibble with her as I view the decline in personal financial responsibility as the near-tandem equivalent of this society’s principal problem, family breakdown.

The signs of that are everywhere…the lines of obsessive blockheads at the local convenience store,nonchalantly conducting their “banking” by purchasing their daily “fix” of lotto tickets, oblivious to the man behind them who just wants to buy a Milky Way; the omninously drab “Riverboat” Casinos which look like tawdry sets from a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode; the tenants and condominium owners who are evicted from their units for failure to pay rent or assessments but who possess a gallery of flat screen TV’s and other electronic equuipment. And that’s only the anecdotal evidence of the problem, not the statistical evidence which Ms. Sullivan cites in her article. Nor do these examples fully illustrate the trail of personal and societal devestation left behind by acts of financial irresponsibility.

I am less sanguine than Ms. Sullivan appears to be about the likelihood that the public education system has the ability or willingness to teach thrift to the young, although it certainly should be tried. The idea of turning saving into a game is a good one and one that I employed briefly when my solo law practice was in financial decline and reduced cash flow necessitated making spending choices I hadn’t had to make in some time. After getting over the initial feeling of claustraphobia when confronted with the imperative of not being able to spend, the process of cutting back almost became enjoyable. Fortunately that “pleasure” was of short duration when, at the age of 58 and in the middle of a national economic downturn, I was able to obtain an associate’s position (and a nice paycheck) at a busy law firm.

Reorienting our country from consumption to savings is a daunting task and given the current state of our culture, I am not optimistic about its short term prospects for success, but this Sunday morning insomniac commends Ms. Sullivan for writing about this issue.