Well, let me take the opposite position: In today's airspace, flying wihtout a GPS is IMHO irresponsible.

Please explain why it's irresponsible. I understand that very few
domestic airliners and commuters have GPS. Does every mililtary
aircraft have GPS? Is it irressponsible to fly a J-3 NORDO, even into
OSH?

That "expensive" GPS is around 350 bucks or so.

The poster said, "I'm thinking of a higher end GPS, maybe even color."

Having a GPS and not being able to navigate without it are two completely different things.

The poster said he NEEDED a GPS. That suggests dependency. And if you
have been flying long, you know that a new pilot with a GPS will
quickly become dependent and will never develop pilotage skills.

It's common knowledge that many recently trained pilots have not
learned to navigate well. It's often been discussed here.

vince norris