I realize I'm riding a teeny boat in a very large ocean having only recently bought my first NiB after 40ish years of renting boats for 5 minutes at a time and the occasional project boat full of water. I worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get here as I'm sure most of you have. Still, I feel quite fortunate I was able to get my dream boat.
I think this thread and others like it are a lot more fun when we focus our wild speculation, inside jokes, pet theories, boat/tide metaphors, dick-measuring and the delightful bitching that comes with them on killer pinball themes, BOM lists, designer drama and the perfect pink powdercoat to spray on our boats rather than broad macroeconomic theories and how the needs, motivations and worldviews of people who can't afford boats do or do not impact our boat hobby.