“Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball.”

(-; you know you have to like it :-)

Seems to me there is nothing wrong with relaxing due to an active life as long as the process does NOT violate any OTHER One's Individual rights.

Anon, Perhaps he is referring to people on welfare and are happy to stay there. Your comment doesn't seem to fit the quote.

Jim, I concur with your comment on the welfare trap, but I don't get what Buffet means about Cinderella at the ball.

Power corrupts. Whoever has control of the public treasury has the power to destroy the nation by giving it away to government contractors (usually the corporations owned by politicians and their campaign creditors). And the Obama administration is breaking all the records for promising the most with a debt so massive, the nation will remain in debt forever.

Sorry Jim, I do let my mind get away from me sometimes.

Effortless money (that would be credit) leads people to believe that the good times will roll on forever. There were a lot of people who got sucked into the Cinderella trap. Now all of their fairy finery is turning back into filthy rags and pumpkins (exactly what they could afford to begin with).

I think he was referring to the malinvestment caused by easy credit/expansion of the money supply.

I agree with the comment about the credit scam game...my first thought upon reading W. Buffet's quote was of some rich folks who get rich by corrupt means....also of times when people come into a deal of some sort where someone pays them a large sum, ( by comparison to what they're accustomed to ) for very little labor. Makes me appreciate my hard earned, sometimes skimpy paycheck.....keeps me a critical thinker. God bless hard labor and it's benefits !!!!!!