Actually, BG, I think his location was in the Bay Area.
Reading his blog, he seems to be peeved at people nit-picking his lifestyle and choices, and challenging his ideas. But he certainly does not advocate this for everyone. He simply claims that we could all do with a lot less status-seeking consumption if we chose to. And I like how he rips advertisers for shaping our values and habits.
The fact is that capitalism has delivered vastly higher living standards for everyone–rich and poor–in the past two generations. A growth rate of GNP per capita of 3% per year means a doubling in 24 years, and 3% was about our average from the 50’s through 2005. In the 1950’s, houses were far smaller, two-car garages were rare, houses had one black-and-white TV, (but not till the mid-fifties), and cars were clunkers that lasted about 100k miles. This is why he suggests if you want to know what you have to change in your life to live on $7000 per year today, ask your grandparents what they did in the 1950’s and 1940’s.
