my point wasn't so much about home values as it was about inflation. when i was a kid, minimum wage was $1.60, so a millionaire was a big thing. now that minimum wage is over $6, i won't say those people are about to become millionaires, but a million dollars just isn't what it once was.

you can't live on a million dollars in this city for the rest of your life, you can't retire forever or buy and maintain a yacht or even one mansion and you can't buy a flock of amazing cars with a single million. in l.a., you can't even buy a house in a good (we're not talking beverly hills) neighborhood.

that's the sort of purchasing power most people picture when they hear the word "millionaire" but it's been years since that's what a millionaire really is. look at the millionaire in gilligan's island. look at the beverly hillbillies after they made their million.