Liberal propaganda would say that because the rich make too much money, the poor do not have anything left to live on. Part of this message is driven on what is becoming a widening “wealth gap” here in the United States.
Unfortunately, wealth in America is widening. When you have government-inflated asset bubbles and a market that isn’t truly free, you have a recipe for the poor and middle class to get crushed by rising prices,while the rich continue to get richer simply because the things they own are appreciating against a weakening currency.
This issue of the “wealth gap” was addressed by the Washington Post as it ran an article a few weeks back claiming that income inequality — the fact that some people earn so much more than others — is a problem in this country. The conclusion and the rationale is something I whole-heartedly disagree with, and I know it’s a message that gets pumped into our country to create division and allegiance towards certain politicians.
The breakdown of income inequality was put was like this:
“Let’s imagine that there are just 100 people in the United States. The richest guy (and, yes, he’s probably a guy) owns more than one-third of the total wealth in this country. He’s got a third of all the property, a third of the stock market and a third of anything else that can be owned. Not bad.
The next-richest four people together own 28 percent of all the stuff. The next five people together own 14 percent of all the things, and the next 10 own 12 percent.
We’ve accounted for just 20 percent of the people but nearly 90 percent of the total wealth. You can probably tell where this is going.
By the time we reach the bottom 40 percent of Americans, guess what? We’ve run out of stuff. Sorry guys, you get nothing.”
So the way the author wants you to walk away after reading this excerpt is understanding that rich people get rich by taking and withholding money from the poor. The other thing this conveys is that if you’re poor, you are likely to stay poor because there aren’t enough resources for you to thrive.
Both of these assertions are things I disagree with. Unfortunately, throwing out this sort of propaganda opens the door for politicians to “fix” things and win over votes from an under-educated, manipulated population that can’t see through the lies.
The reality is income is generally attributed to a number of things and is not capped. As we have discussed, there are many ways to earn income and provide value to others that will increase your wealth and put a larger percentage of the wealth pie into your pocket.
Things that contribute to someone’s wealth include:
- Competency of what you do
- Profession of choice
- Network of people
- Education and experience
- Work ethic
- Family wealth
- LUCK!
The truth is if you can provide enough of a service to attract income from others — including the wealthy — you will earn money and you won’t be capped with limited earnings and be stuck in some sort of lower-class bracket in our society –you will join the wealthy.
“I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
– Thomas Jefferson
I strongly believe in the above statement when it comes to a strong work ethic and success in life. I do, however, feel that the following statement is also true, and it’s very much applicable to those who complain about their financial situation and are not actively engaging ways to improve it.
The ceiling of wealth isn’t something that is hoarded by those with money, but rather shared among people who are providing value in the marketplace. The fact that people dwell on demonizing people who have money keeps them and others from actually working hard to improve their own lives, leading to just hatred towards those who have done something with theirs.
“Complaining is a complete waste of one’s energy. Those who complain the most accomplish the least.”
– Robert Tew