John Y’s Musings in the Middle: “Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good”

“Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good!”

Remember the old saying, “I feel like a million bucks!”?

That was very popular a few decades ago and meant you felt good physically and were on top of the world.

I have done an economic analysis based on when that saying was at the height of popular usage and have adjusted for inflation.

In today’s monetary terms, the proper saying should be “I feel like $2,435, 721.32”

However after adjusting for what each individual on average owes over their lifetime based on our national debt, the new adjusted number is roughly “$6.48.”

So, if you are feeling especially good today…and especially positive about the future, cock your head, put back that gleam in our eye and say, “Hey there, pal! I’m feeling like roughly $6.48 today, adjusting for inflation and my portion of the debt!”

It’s not quite as catchy as the original line, but spirit of that expression is still in there somewhere.

On the other hand, if you aren’t feeling especially good today physically or about your personal future, you will need to adjust further downward if someone asks you to estimate your dollar value based on your frame of mind today.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of wiggle room. I guess what I’m saying is I hope everyone is feeling, as Larry David likes to say, “Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good” about things. Figuratively speaking. ; )