What is the most glamourous aspect of being "poor"? Well, by necessity, they (we) are creative. The 1950s, 1960s and 1970s now appear anomalous in their move toward a more equitable distribution of wealth; such that people in the top, say, 10%, might have had a chance at a share in meaningful power and wealth. The creativity and happiness books, TED talks, and their ilk are trying to make the (middle-)managerial class not notice this for a while longer, or feel better about their place in the distribution that is shifting away from them. The professional middle class spends a lot of time right now differentiating themselves from the lower classes, when in fact if your non-home wealth is less than some number (apparently about $400k in 2004[1]), you have a lot more in common financially with them than with the billionaire giving the TED talk. This is what the Ocuppy movement was trying to tell people. [1]http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_502.pdf