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Just Be Rich

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Re: Just Be Rich

#311

Post by talliedthoughts »

sbacic wrote: post #183
Barrin92 wrote: post #49

I'm just gonna quote what I think is a very important part from the Graham piece itself >" People who don't look any deeper than the Gini coefficient look back on the world of 1982 as the good old days, because those who got rich then didn't get as rich. But if you dig into how they got rich, the old days don't look so good. In 1982, 84% of the richest 100 people got rich by inheritance, extracting natural resources,…

> Because at least old money understands the concept of noblesse oblige. Source please. > it's that this mentality of earned wealth completely rids the owner of any sort of responsibility. Allow me to offer a different view. If you're one of the lucky few who went from nothing to millions (or even billions) you'd be pissed if society came and started talking about responsibility and equality _now_. Where was society…

Reading the other comments here, I think the argument is that when most people say they came from nothing, they are ignoring roads, electrical grids, sewer systems, fire departments, police to enfore property rights etc. "Society" provided those - before the person was rich. Of course, there are some people who got rich without any of those things, but probably a lot fewer.

Re: Just Be Rich

#312

Post by engineeringwoke »

imtringued wrote: post #224
mnsc wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much every mainstream economist defending the mainstream economy to preserve the status quo in that widening the income gap is a good thing for the mainstream economy you mean?

Pretty much every economist thinks "high prices? make more!". That applies to housing too.

Buh... but the GDP went up? That's good right?

Re: Just Be Rich

#313

Post by EliRivers »

noxer wrote: post #249
d_silin wrote: post #7

A lot of people who are just as smart and motived as Elon Musk or Steve Jobs will never be able to start their own companies and get rich. Because they have family obligations that take priority. Because they live outside high-income countries. Because they have no access to support network, so when they fail, they fall all the way to bottom. Because they may have made a crippling mistake in their pasts that now prev…

Half of that is caused by their own past decisions and the other half by their own present decision to not put 100% of their effort into changing it. >being poor is the single most powerful force that prevents people from doing that. IMO absolutely wrong. The real reason is people dont try and risk it all. And they search for reasons why they would not be able to make it, including the oh so unfair starting points in…

Also what exactly is so "scary" about failing? Do people think they end up homeless under a bridge or something? I see a practically zero chance that could ever happen to someone who fights. You need to have some serious mental health problems and probably drugs to fall this deep.

Well this is just not true. You have a fantasy view of life that does not ally with reality.

Re: Just Be Rich

#314

Post by LightG »

yladiz wrote: post #125
EvilEy3 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because they have family obligations that take priority. Is that "I have kids!" I hear now? > Because they live outside high-income countries. Well then move to high-income country. > Because they have no access to support network, so when they fail, they fall all the way to bottom. That's unfortunate, but that's life. A lot of people don't have that safety. And not all of them are poor. > Because they may have mad…

> I "potentially" could've been next Ali, Tyson or Lomachenko, I'm not. Is that because if my mistake, or mistake of my parents or who else? It's unfortunate, but yes it's your mistake and your mistake alone, not any outside factor like genetics. You should work harder, get stronger, be better to reach your potential and achieve the dream.

You have a very limited idea of what it takes for people to reach their potential.

Re: Just Be Rich

#315

Post by EvilEy3 »

heavyset_go wrote: post #306
herbst wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually see how this really works before forming your opinion? The only thing my family needed to migrate to Switzerland was one job contract for my mum, not even a well paid job but some future potential due to relatively good education. The most complicated part was not paying way to much to get our stuff over here. Its not to different in many other countries. The thing is, if you are somewhat valueable (…

What first world country can people emigrate to without a sponsor, a degree or specialization?

Why do you think you're entitled to emigrate there?

Re: Just Be Rich

#316

Post by EvilEy3 »

alexgmcm wrote: post #295
EvilEy3 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved from one of the shittiest Eastern countries to the "relatively wealthy Western Europe". And it was 2018 where I "just jumped on airplane". How am I detached from reality when live in it?

Within the EU? That's an exception due to the freedom of movement rules which don't really exist anywhere else.

Outside.

Re: Just Be Rich

#317

Post by AussieWog93 »

xupybd wrote: post #29

Absolute wealth has increased as the wealth gap increased. Standards of living for everyone have gotten better, but there is still an issue. Wealth is not just about your buying power it's also about your social status and power. A lot more status and power is concentrated with the few. This is a big problem if you care about individual freedoms. They tend to erode very quickly with a concentration of power.

I would agree with you 100% if it weren't for absolutely ludicrous house prices (for reference, I'm in Melbourne, but I've heard similar complaints from people in Canada and Hong Kong). My wife and I have a far higher than average household income, and even we're worried about how the hell we can afford to own our own home. God knows what the average single-income, working class family goes through.

Re: Just Be Rich

#318

Post by Err_Eek »

herbst wrote: post #286
donnythecroc wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is all down to the basic human need of a home. In the 70s and 80s even 90s someone on a teacher's salary could own their own home in a major world city - say London. Now, literally zero chance. Because homes have become an asset class and the rich can outbid regular people so they are pushed out. That's the problem. I couldn't care less how many billionaires there are if regular people can afford a decent…

I think its more than just that. I think less people are interested in actually owning their housing. For me housing is the least thing i want to worry about, so i gladly rent and simply can fix any problems by calling my landlord who is by law obliged to keep the house in a liveable condition. Also flexibility, i can move whenever i want without worrying about the value of my house (which in reality likely only loos…

> I think less people are interested in actually owning their housing.

How do you reconcile this impression of yours with the fact that housing prices are shooting up in all major cities, and have been so for decades? Why is this happening if fewer people are actually interested in owning their own housing?

As a sidenote: in my own personal experience housing is the single major issue of all my close friends and family, but it's only an option for a small minority of them. In fact, I have never met a single person who was in the financial position to buy a house/apartment and didn't do so.

Re: Just Be Rich

#319

Post by herbst »

notahacker wrote: post #310
herbst wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually see how this really works before forming your opinion? The only thing my family needed to migrate to Switzerland was one job contract for my mum, not even a well paid job but some future potential due to relatively good education. The most complicated part was not paying way to much to get our stuff over here. Its not to different in many other countries. The thing is, if you are somewhat valueable (…

So all you need to do is rewrite the first 18 years of your history to obtain a "relatively good education".... People are not paying their life savings to get smuggled into Europe on a small, overcrowded boat because it's easy to move here.

I get what you are saying. But 99% of people reading this will have some kind of degree. Prolly 90% a tech one.

Yes without education, no chance.

Re: Just Be Rich

#320

Post by input_sh »

deepGem wrote: post #294
d_silin wrote: post #7

A lot of people who are just as smart and motived as Elon Musk or Steve Jobs will never be able to start their own companies and get rich. Because they have family obligations that take priority. Because they live outside high-income countries. Because they have no access to support network, so when they fail, they fall all the way to bottom. Because they may have made a crippling mistake in their pasts that now prev…

Yet, there are many examples of those who made big from rags to riches. Am not talking about movie stars but business tycoons. Carol Bartz, Dhirubai Ambani, Naval Ravikant, Chamath to name a few. Bartz for instance "Bartz was born in Winona, Minnesota. After losing her mother at a young age, she moved with her brother to her grandparent's farm in Alma, Wisconsin. She took a job at a bank at age 15 to help support her…

You're making a giant leap between getting out of poverty and becoming a business executive. Most people don't aim to manage other people, they're happy doing whatever they want to do (doctor, nurse, teacher, whatever) while not having to worry about having their basic needs met (food, shelter, similar). Can they achieve that under our current system?
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