The wealthy elite disagree.
61% of Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck
- Thread starter ipatent
- Start date
Being rich or wealthy has nothing to do with rich parents.
We Americans like to spend. And like to gamble too. Trading is like gambling and we all love doing it.
For people who retire early, trading stocks is an enjoyment. But for people who quit their $50,000 job, trading meme stock as full time job, only very few traders enjoy the results.
Most people know what it takes to build wealth, it is not rocket science.
Problem is it does require natural talents that most people lack.
Apparently the two best predictors of success in countries like the US are
1. Strong work ethic.
2. High intelligence.
If you have both your odds of success are very high.
Being high in just one of those traits (and being just average in the other) also improves your odds.
Problem is most people are both dumb and lazy
IMO success is proportional to workEthic * intelligence * exp(rand())
how many people fresh out of high school know the difference between an asset and a liability? I doubt many do. What should you do with a dollar? what percent should be allocated to what? how's about the difference between a Roth and traditional IRA? how's about some guidance on how to open an account, etc...Most people know what it takes to build wealth, it is not rocket science.
Problem is it does require natural talents that most people lack.
Apparently the two best predictors of success in countries like the US are
1. Strong work ethic.
2. High intelligence.
If you have both your odds of success are very high.
Being high in just one of those traits (and being just average in the other) also improves your odds.
Problem is most people are both dumb and lazy
I get your point that a certain level is discipline is required but lets be real here...kids are thrown into the world of capitalism without even knowing how to use it there advantage.
lots of hard working smart people are poor.
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according the the authors of "Millionaire next door", the majority of millionaires in America are first generation wealthy meaning they didn't inherit shit.
Most wealthy people know that true wealth is derived from the lower classes and the more money the lower classes have to spend, the more can percolate up to them. A capitalistic society provides things people need/want!
Of course, the problem is that the government has prevented that via "trickle down" economics which is more like "piss on" economics.
I like to go back to points I made in other posts that are uniquely American (that I've not encountered in the 12 or so countries I have lived in):
1. A friend who works placing labor in various industries (restaurants, catering, warehousing, etc.) says it's not easy finding people willing to work "gig" jobs for under $30/hour. Even at that rate it's very difficult to ensure commitments and it's common for individuals not go to jobs for any reasons (a friend called about a party...). He says anyone who shows commitment (what day, what time, I'll be there) usually gets bonus pay all the way to $50/hour.
With this picture in mind, it's not difficult to see why small businesses can't find anyone for $12/hr. In Europe where unemployment is permanently high, it would be inconceivable to be so flippant about work opportunities.
2. From my experience, there's no doubt that Americans are happy go lucky people. As we used to say, $30/hr buys a lotta beer! I remember in HS (early 80s) how many kids had no interest in education and were just buying their time to quit and get a real job. At 16, so many kids I knew felt they had all that's needed to be successful, a nice car, a construction job, a place to live, as much booze and drugs as they wanted and a hot girlfriend. Trajectory? Pregnant by 18, separated by 25 and, if luck came your way, same lifestyle for the next 30 years. All the kids I talk about where white anglo-saxons for the most part, but all with Euro roots.
Today, I have no doubt that these now mid lifers are mostly Trump voters, bitter at their failures, at their lack of easy success, at the work required to keep up with the Latinos taking the jobs from them, at the Blacks who complain all the time for handouts, at the socialists who want to take more of their paychecks, at the Chinese who send us their cheap stuff and steal our knowledge...
I know I'm gonna hit home for some and I really don't mean to be derogatory. It is what it is. The kids raised in college educated middle class families weren't all that different (except for better quality drugs) other than being pressured to finish HS and go to college. They are least likely to be living from paycheck to paycheck today because parents and college and peers and higher paychecks taught them the value of saving today for tomorrow.
I know too many blue collar workers with 6 figure incomes living paycheck to paycheck because they never changed their teen behavior... money's primary function is to party.
1. A friend who works placing labor in various industries (restaurants, catering, warehousing, etc.) says it's not easy finding people willing to work "gig" jobs for under $30/hour. Even at that rate it's very difficult to ensure commitments and it's common for individuals not go to jobs for any reasons (a friend called about a party...). He says anyone who shows commitment (what day, what time, I'll be there) usually gets bonus pay all the way to $50/hour.
With this picture in mind, it's not difficult to see why small businesses can't find anyone for $12/hr. In Europe where unemployment is permanently high, it would be inconceivable to be so flippant about work opportunities.
2. From my experience, there's no doubt that Americans are happy go lucky people. As we used to say, $30/hr buys a lotta beer! I remember in HS (early 80s) how many kids had no interest in education and were just buying their time to quit and get a real job. At 16, so many kids I knew felt they had all that's needed to be successful, a nice car, a construction job, a place to live, as much booze and drugs as they wanted and a hot girlfriend. Trajectory? Pregnant by 18, separated by 25 and, if luck came your way, same lifestyle for the next 30 years. All the kids I talk about where white anglo-saxons for the most part, but all with Euro roots.
Today, I have no doubt that these now mid lifers are mostly Trump voters, bitter at their failures, at their lack of easy success, at the work required to keep up with the Latinos taking the jobs from them, at the Blacks who complain all the time for handouts, at the socialists who want to take more of their paychecks, at the Chinese who send us their cheap stuff and steal our knowledge...
I know I'm gonna hit home for some and I really don't mean to be derogatory. It is what it is. The kids raised in college educated middle class families weren't all that different (except for better quality drugs) other than being pressured to finish HS and go to college. They are least likely to be living from paycheck to paycheck today because parents and college and peers and higher paychecks taught them the value of saving today for tomorrow.
I know too many blue collar workers with 6 figure incomes living paycheck to paycheck because they never changed their teen behavior... money's primary function is to party.
Many of the people who live paycheck to paycheck always seem to have money for cigarettes, Powerball tickets, scratch off lottery games, and thousands of dollars of tattoos on their body.
You can try to teach them all the money management skills you want, but you can’t fix stupid.
You can try to teach them all the money management skills you want, but you can’t fix stupid.