Secret Society - Global Conspiracy Against Thrift

OK - the title is a bit extreme. I was hoping to generate some traffic from the Global Conspiracy and Secret Society highways. The fact is that there are deliberate campaigns intended to stimulate your impulses, and prey upon your desires to overcome your better judgement. Everything is all about excess, urgency, and immediate gratification. Is this random? Is this a coincidence? I'll leave that for my friends over at the Bilderberg Group or the Trilateral Commission to determine.

One thing I will comment on is the evolution (sorry - intelligent design) of advertising campaigns. Back when I was a child, commercial consisted of a memorable jingle and images of happy people using and enjoying the products. I can still recall some of my favorites:
- Kool-aid Kool-aid, tastes great, Kool-aid Kool-aid, can't wait
- Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun
- 'cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O -G-N-A

Now the advertising is all about emotional sensation and urgency. But whether we are talking about hamburgers or HumVees, the message going out is that everyone needs to drop what they are doing, recognize the emptiness and void in their life, and rapidly take all steps to immediately acquire the product in order that their lives may be again complete and fulfilled.

Not all of us are as strong and powerful as Chuck Norris (http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/), so we have to define our principles and live by them, lest we end up disgraced like Eliot Spitzer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer). Don't be swayed by the "too good to be fully true" promises of the Get Rich Quick promoters who have been upstaged by the legal limitations of their traits. Examples of this ilk include Charles Givens http://www.newbusinessnews.com/story/07149801.html); (http://invest-faq.com/cbc/warn-givens.html); Kevin Trudeau (http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2005/07/29/trudeau/index.html); (http://www.programcritique.com/subcategories/NotRecommended/KevinTrudeau.html ) and David Del Dotto (http://www.programcritique.com/subcategories/NotRecommended/DavidDelDotto.html).

Thrift is about value and making prudent and intelligent decisions. The best examples would be Warren Buffett (currenlty the individual with the highest Net Worth in the world http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/warrenbuffett/a/aawarrenbio.htm; http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/08/31/buffett/); Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A3PYU1S1RW3HDR; or John Templeton http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/Sir-John-Templeton-interview.html.

So the lesson: pay less attention to the over-hyped promises of slick marketers, and heed the advice and examples of those prominent builders of wealth, who prevailed through many generations to build their Net Worth through tried and true principles.