Grumpy Wisconsinite and accomplished economist Thorstein Veblen was a big fan of working hard and being sensible, so much so that he coined the term "conspicuous consumption" to describe the economic phenomenon of, to put it bluntly, rich people spending money on stupid stuff just because they can. Now, economics is called The Dismal Science for a reason, and Veblen's the kind of guy who would crack a dour Norwegian grin every time an Enzo burned, but it's hard to know what he'd think of Papa John's shelling out a cool quarter-million for his long-lost Z28-it's a lot of dosh, but "Papa" John Schnatter certainly worked for his fortune. Fortunately, when we asked you all what you'd give to be reunited with your first car, level-headed Potbelly Joe retained his sense of economic proportion.
Let's go by the numbers...
He is valued at $750 million, he pays $250K..
Despite my wife's feelings, I have value and between us we have about $160k between house, 401K, and other various assets.
Proportionally speaking, I would then be putting out $53 for my 1989 Mercury Sable GS with 230K miles on the clock.
Sounds like a deal to me...
Ah, see? Economics isn't so dismal after all, even though it somehow turned a nine-second Z28 into a 230,000-mile Sable.
Photo Credit:University of Chicago