Retirementology: Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy

2. Gold Dust on Sushi

DAMNESIA: [dam-nee-zhuh]

Prepurchase state of forgetting how badly it will feel when the damn credit card bill arrives. James later blamed the damnesia when he plopped his Amex down for the full-carbon mountain bike.

When they were seemingly on top of the economic world during the 1980s, the Japanese would routinely sprinkle gold dust on their sushi. Gold leaf flakes were sometimes used instead of dry seaweed to wrap the rice,¹ and amazingly, the world record for spending on a sushi roll comes in at $83,500, paid in Tokyo in January 1992.² A recent Japanese film, “Bubble e Go! Time Machine wa Drum Shiki,” which roughly translates to “Back to the Bubble,” revisits some of the common behaviors of the 1980 boom showcasing ...