I am in the top 1% richest ppl in the world

[ByLoSellHi]

I'm a capitalist.

Capitalism, when it works efficiently, improves the lives of people by financially rewarding those who help to make those peoples' lives better.

Do not confuse capitalism with consumerism.

They may overlap, at the periphery from time to time, but consumerism is the art of convincing people to buy things they don't necessarily need, and even things that won't improve their lives (these things may even inhibit the person's satisfaction level, especially if much trouble, stress and toil was expended to obtain the requisite object).

 

[Indrionas]

Quote from Sparohok:

If y'all think the cost of living is so much lower elsewhere, why are you still here? You could take your skills and your family and your life savings and go to India to live the good life.

More to the point, why are there so many Indian people living and working in the US? They must have gotten tired of living like royalty, so they could come here and struggle with our miserable standard of living.

The truth is you guys have no freakin' clue how the rest of the world lives. Talk to some real live Indian people. Talk to some Eastern Europeans or Chinese or Middle Easterners. Go to their countries and see their lives for yourselves, then see if you come back and bitch and moan about the "challenges" of "just getting by" with your palatial wealth.

Martin

I'm Eastern European. You have some great misconceptions there. Life is not that bad here. Sure, some stuff (e.g. new cars) is expensive compared to our salaries but everything else is affordable, and we're not living in shit huts like you probably imagine Nobody emigrates if they have good life here, that wouldn't make any sense.

 

[epetrov]

Quote from Indrionas:

I'm Eastern European. You have some great misconceptions there. Life is not that bad here. Sure, some stuff (e.g. new cars) is expensive compared to our salaries but everything else is affordable, and we're not living in shit huts like you probably imagine Nobody emigrates if they have good life here, that wouldn't make any sense.

Many things must be considered in order to estimate how people live. This is according to my view:
- income;
- lcst of living;
- age;
- envirovment;
- health care and education;
- political stability if you want;
- even climate is important;
- freedome;
- relationships;
- free and leasure time;
- family and employment;
- many ofter things;

Surely most of us are among the richest part pf the world polulation. That's for sure. 1/4 of the world population live with less than a dollar per day. Anyware this is not enough.

 

[Hydroblunt]

Quote from ByLoSellHi:

I'm a capitalist.

Capitalism, when it works efficiently, improves the lives of people by financially rewarding those who help to make those peoples' lives better.

You're obviously not at all familiar with the roots & history of capitalism.

 

[PatrickQ]

Quote from monty21:

Don't create crazy standards. 1 million a year is amazing, even on Wall Street standards. Yes theres Traders & CEO that rake in 50 million a year, but their are so few of them.

i agree. my only point was that making 250k-1M/ year is hardly WEALTH especailly after taxes. yes, you are making great money but it takes savings, smart investments, growth and many years putting up these numbers TO create WEALTH, IMO.

funny observation in Phoenix, AZ the past 5 years WAS TO SEE ALL THE 30-60k/year MILLIONARES we had flashing their new cars, homes, boats and toys because of the cheap money, lax borrowing requirements and HOUSING boom. and, to think WE (tax payers) are going to bail them out, and reward their behavior.... go govt! go govt! go govt!

 

[Sparohok]

Quote from Indrionas:

I'm Eastern European. You have some great misconceptions there.

I've been to Eastern Europe and I have no misconceptions. I'm not saying you're living in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, the lower cost of living pays for a lower standard of living. Most Americans, if they were actually faced with that tradeoff, would not take it. And most Eastern Europeans, given the choice of a typical American standard of living, would jump at the chance (if they didn't have to leave their home & their family to get it).

Martin

 

[Sparohok]

Quote from PatrickQ:

my only point was that making 250k-1M/ year is hardly WEALTH especailly after taxes.

Don't kid yourself. 250k a year, pretax, is fabulous wealth by any realistic standard. The vast majority of people alive today will never know the luxury and comfort available with that sort of income.

Any amount of wealth can be squandered, thrown away. But anyone who can't figure out a way to make themselves happy and comfortable with that sort of buying power has only themselves to blame.

The only way you can make yourself poor is by the choice of comparison. If you compare yourself to the vanishingly small proportion of the world population that is wealthier than you, sure you're going to feel poor. That's your choice & your self-inflicted misery.

Martin

 

[PatrickQ]

i guess WE all have different ideas of reality, the beauty of trading! i ll go back to being miserable. Thanks for reminding me, as I started to feel good today! bad dog, bad dog!

 

[epetrov]

Quote from Sparohok:

I've been to Eastern Europe and I have no misconceptions. I'm not saying you're living in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, the lower cost of living pays for a lower standard of living. Most Americans, if they were actually faced with that tradeoff, would not take it. And most Eastern Europeans, given the choice of a typical American standard of living, would jump at the chance (if they didn't have to leave their home & their family to get it).

Martin

Hi Martin,
it's just your opinion and it't fair. But do not overestimate it.
I live also in Eastern Europe and I had many times the chances to move to the West WITH qualified and well paid jobs.
I still make the choice to live and work here and I do it consciously.
I know some people from the West, who after living a coupe of years here do no want to go back in theis coultries.

 

[GTG]

Don't kid yourself. 250k a year, pretax, is fabulous wealth by any realistic standard. The vast majority of people alive today will never know the luxury and comfort available with that sort of income.

When you get to this level of income there is a good chance that you are making the money from some sort of risk-taking activity, rather than an outright salary. It's a completely different world when you make your money from risk-taking rather than being an employee. I make more money than almost everyone that I know, but I live a much simpler life than almost everyone I know. This isn't just because I'm thrifty. I make most of my income from owning a business. I simply don't have the luxury of living pay-check-to-paycheck, like my friends who work for large corporations can, because I know that my income could change very quickly, so most of what I bring home after taxes has to be saved/invested. Its quite possible to make >250k and still not "know the luxury and comfort available with that sort of income".