This is interesting, but one quibble:
3. Americans like money. In the UK it’s considered gauche to want stuff. When we look at Mitt Romney on his jet ski we think, “How vulgar,” or “He should donate his jet ski to the poor.” When an American sees Romney having fun on the lake, they think, “Man, I’d love a jet ski.” For evidence, consider our very different attitudes towards inheritance/estate taxes. In the UK we regard them as a just way of redistributing money. In the US, a clear majority see them as legal theft. Even though few Americans make enough money to end up paying the estate tax, many hope that someday they will. Not only do Americans lack our jealously of other people’s jet skis, but they live in optimism that they will eventually own their own pair. It’s called the American Dream, and it’s why the Left’s message on taxes has never been wildly popular.
(Via @sissywillis)
…which is if you have a few grand handy and really want a jet ski, you can pick up one used. So it’s not so much ‘optimism’ as it is ‘expectation.’ At least, it is when we have Presidents in office who have a clue about how to grow the economy.
Moe Lane