Coming from HN, this just caught my eye on the NYT: "Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/business/sales-of-luxury-g...) while the country struggles to pay its debts and is losing its future. Just goes to show how separated the top .5% of American society has become from the rest... What I as a an "Asian-European" will never get is the unmitigated adoration of material wealth in American society/mass culture. Can't help but feel that is also a part of the problem. I mean, you don't have to be all ethical and bright to realize that Einstein, for instance, was not particularly wealthy and yet deserved (and commanded) orders of magnitude more respect than your typical billionaire. What's with the obsession about bling?