The wealth gap

There is a lot of talk about the “wealth gap” today, and I wanted to give my views on it.

First, it makes sense that there is one (in fact there MUST be one), and it should be growing.  Let me unpack this.

How to make money is known, and it can be known by all who wish to know it.  There are no secrets.  Any idea that opportunities or knowledge are being kept from anyone is a myth today.

Making money is not easy and requires self-discipline, hard work, and taking risks.  Not everyone is willing to do these things simply because it’s easier today to chase short-term pleasure and entertainment.  If you had a hidden camera and watched what people do each day, you’d see the striking difference between how the top and the bottom spend their hours, and how they spent their hours years earlier to get them where they are.

The link between education and wealth is loose.  And education is available to anyone without going to college.  The idea that you have to have money is the first place to make money is a myth.  I am living proof and I am far from alone.  (And my son is light years ahead of me in science and math with no college.)

When we talk about a “gap”, we are talking about comparing the bottom to the top.  As far as the bottom, they have zero wealth.  They live hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck.  There are people who do nothing to improve their economic condition and millions who are downright destructive to themselves and their ability to make a contribution to others.  Zero will always be zero. The bottom 100 years ago, or 50 years ago or 20 years ago – was zero.

Now let’s talk about the top.  The people that get to the “top” are the advanced leaders showing us we can do it too.  We can see how they did it – no secrets.  There will always be the first person to make one billion, five billion, 10 billion – and there will be someone who will push the number ever higher.  And I am glad they get better all the time.  It creates lots of opportunities for me and everyone at the bottom – if they wanted to take advantage of it.

It used to be that a “million” meant you were rich – but now everyone who works in America will make a million dollars in their lifetime.  Some in a career, some in 20 years, and some in ten years, etc.  Even people on public assistance will collect a million in cash and benefits over their lifetimes without working!

I do not want to live in a world where everyone is equal when it comes to income and wealth.  This means that nobody can get ahead because by taxation or theft or through many policies.  I do not work hard to get ahead of anyone else, I do it to see how far I can go and how good I can get.  If I knew I couldn’t do better, I would not try.  If the guy at the bottom knows he will do as well as everyone else, he won’t try either, and nobody lives well or is fulfilled in a world where nobody is trying.

Money makes money – that can be true.  So the wealthy can eventually figure out how to live off their wealth without working.  But they have to earn it first.  And making money and managing it is a great responsibility.  In making money from money, they have to risk it and provide the capital and liquidity for new companies and new investments, and new jobs for others.  Sometimes they lose.

So, the rich get richer – that’s good by me.  Zero is always zero and will always be – I understand why.

So there’s a wealth gap – and it’s getting bigger.  I understand that and that’s the world I want to live in – and you should too.

Willingness to listen

Often young people enter “the age of infinite wisdom” and become unwilling to listen to anybody.  You know, where they know what they are doing and nobody can tell them otherwise.

Some people stay in this state their whole lives, and others may stay in it in some measure, or for certain areas of their lives.

Often we fool ourselves that a want is really a need, and once our brain does that we make excuses, don’t want to hear the truth, and dismiss it “because”.

The only thing that may wake these people up is when the culminating event happens and their life is a train wreck where they have to reach out for help.  For many, even that will not prevent them from stubbornly defending their positions, and they may be right back at it when the crisis passes.

People that are growing and ultimately succeed in anything, are open to listening and learning.  Learning from others (mistakes) is necessary, because there are a lot of areas of life and a lot of mistakes that could be made, and we will never live long enough to make them all ourselves.

Pick the right voices of value, and don’t just hear – listen.

Heavy load

Being heavy-hearted or heavy-minded is not about adding something that is going to make you happy – it’s about letting things go that you don’t need.

What did your mind press “save” on that you need to press “delete” on now?

Perseverance to succeed

Here is a quote from Admiral William McRaven – 

“I believe history will show that success is not just a function of brains or brawn, or talent or intellect, of skill or resourcefulness, but of perseverance.

Genius without resolve is just another passing person with a bright idea.  Athletic prowess without determination is just another talent wasted.  The world is filled with men and women who amounted to nothing because they gave up on their dreams; because they didn’t have the guts, the determination, the willpower to keep going – no matter what.

But history is also filled with heroes who fought through the challenges, persevered, and made a difference.”

How much persistence have you mustered in pursuit of your big, long-range goals?

Crimes of our fathers

If my grandfather committed a crime, should I be held responsible?

If your father commits a crime, should you go to jail?

If you commit a crime or a moral sin, should your children be held responsible?

If offenses were committed against your great-grandfather, should the criminals pay you for it today?

Should any group pay for it today?

Stuck with your opinion?

Do you want to be stuck with your opinion?

You probably formed your opinion based on limited information or isolated experiences.

You can have an opinion of course, but hold on loosely to it.

Stay open. 

Keep listening and observing and looking for how your first opinion should be modified.

No one to blame – but yourself

My friend had a sign on the wall that inspired this post.  

It said “Looking for someone to blame?  I suggest you look in the mirror and start there.”

To accept responsibility is to claim your personal power.

Not blaming anyone or anything else for your situation is the first step.

Attractive packaging

When you package goods attractively, you get more money for them.  You know this is true.

Pay attention to your personal packaging because the world accepts you as you present yourself.

Nobody argues with who you say that you are.

You're lucky. Pay it forward.

“The secret to life is to be grateful for the many benefits you have received and dissatisfied with how many you’ve provided. – Dr. Mardy Groethe

I understand that my life is as good as it is because of the benefits I have received from countless others- made possible by freedom and free market capitalism.  I was lucky to be born in the United States in 1964.  

I could have been born in Mongolia in 855, or central Africa in 1720, or in Connecticut in 350 BC.  I was very lucky on day one of my life.  And if you are reading this, you are too.

I can never repay everyone who made this possible for me.  But I will work to at least keep my world a great place to live and flourish for my grandchildren and their children, and even make it better if I can.

Boys need fathers

“Young men need fathers.  Without fathers they flounder.” -Matt Rosenberg

In 2021 in Chicago there were 3561 shootings and 800 murders.  The neighborhoods with the highest rate of births to unwed mothers were the same neighborhoods with the highest murder rates.

Studies show that two biological parent households, regardless of race, had greater educational attainment, higher adult incomes, and lower rates of incarceration.