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Some friends were huddled up with me under our communal bridge the other day and we were talking about the upperclass (rich people). One of them used to work for a large multi-national banking service and has got harsher in his tone about the wealthy as he has experienced more of the so called entitled people. He says, "It almost makes you want to vote Democrat."
The general feeling of our group was that 90% of the upper class (rich people) are a combination of thieves, liars or elitists. It was mostly their fault not society's. 20-30 years ago one could be a thieving liar and elitist because there were plenty of jobs in banking/corporate which were grossly unregulated and pretty much a free for all, today, if you don't start behaving honourably there's a really good chance you'll get caught out and prosecuted for screwing everybody else out of their money. Agree?
Most rich people are lucky. More than any other single factor, luck has more to do with wealth than anything else. Lucky to have been born to responsible parents, lucky to be born where there were good schools, lucky the dog never ate your homework, lucky to have had good role models, lucky to have gotten into the right fraternity, lucky to have not disabled yourself in a car crash while binge drinking, lucky not to have been bled dry by a cheerleader you knocked up, lucky you never bought a lemon that threw you into a debt spiral, lucky to have needed to buy and sell your house at propitious times in the market, lucky to have walked in a door at the right time, lucky to have missed being agent-oranged in Nam, lucky that you have no debilitating chronic conditions or genetic defects, the list could go on and on. Incorrigible anecdotalists will reply and say "Not me, I went to bad schools, and still got rich", but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people. Few, if any, of these things have derailed you.
Most rich people are lucky. More than any other single factor, luck has more to do with wealth than anything else. Lucky to have been born to responsible parents, lucky to be born where there were good schools, lucky the dog never ate your homework, lucky to have had good role models, lucky to have gotten into the right fraternity, lucky to have not disabled yourself in a car crash while binge drinking, lucky not to have been bled dry by a cheerleader you knocked up, lucky you never bought a lemon that threw you into a debt spiral, lucky to have needed to buy and sell your house at propitious times in the market, lucky to have walked in a door at the right time, lucky to have missed being agent-oranged in Nam, lucky that you have no debilitating chronic conditions or genetic defects, the list could go on and on. Incorrigible anecdotalists will reply and say "Not me, I went to bad schools, and still got rich", but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people. Few, if any, of these things have derailed you.
You make some very good points. Luck IS an important determinate of wealth. No doubt.
Most rich people are lucky. More than any other single factor, luck has more to do with wealth than anything else. Lucky to have been born to responsible parents, lucky to be born where there were good schools, lucky the dog never ate your homework, lucky to have had good role models, lucky to have gotten into the right fraternity, lucky to have not disabled yourself in a car crash while binge drinking, lucky not to have been bled dry by a cheerleader you knocked up, lucky you never bought a lemon that threw you into a debt spiral, lucky to have needed to buy and sell your house at propitious times in the market, lucky to have walked in a door at the right time, lucky to have missed being agent-oranged in Nam, lucky that you have no debilitating chronic conditions or genetic defects, the list could go on and on. Incorrigible anecdotalists will reply and say "Not me, I went to bad schools, and still got rich", but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people. Few, if any, of these things have derailed you.
"but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people."
Or it could have been because they worked harder than other people...
I have at least three in my family and I know they worked for it...
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,814,296 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonshadow
Some friends were huddled up with me under our communal bridge the other day and we were talking about the upperclass (rich people). One of them used to work for a large multi-national banking service and has got harsher in his tone about the wealthy as he has experienced more of the so called entitled people. He says, "It almost makes you want to vote Democrat."
The general feeling of our group was that 90% of the upper class (rich people) are a combination of thieves, liars or elitists. It was mostly their fault not society's. 20-30 years ago one could be a thieving liar and elitist because there were plenty of jobs in banking/corporate which were grossly unregulated and pretty much a free for all, today, if you don't start behaving honourably there's a really good chance you'll get caught out and prosecuted for screwing everybody else out of their money. Agree?
Totally false. The distribution of @sseholes is uniform across socio-economic lines. No matter how much or how little you achieve in life, you are always going to be surrounded by @sseholes, it's just that the rich @sseholes really get under your skin because they have more than you in spite of being an @ssehole. Know who the people you can trust are and hang on to them at all costs. Also, make sure that YOU aren't one of the @sseholes.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,814,296 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
Most rich people are lucky. More than any other single factor, luck has more to do with wealth than anything else. Lucky to have been born to responsible parents, lucky to be born where there were good schools, lucky the dog never ate your homework, lucky to have had good role models, lucky to have gotten into the right fraternity, lucky to have not disabled yourself in a car crash while binge drinking, lucky not to have been bled dry by a cheerleader you knocked up, lucky you never bought a lemon that threw you into a debt spiral, lucky to have needed to buy and sell your house at propitious times in the market, lucky to have walked in a door at the right time, lucky to have missed being agent-oranged in Nam, lucky that you have no debilitating chronic conditions or genetic defects, the list could go on and on. Incorrigible anecdotalists will reply and say "Not me, I went to bad schools, and still got rich", but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people. Few, if any, of these things have derailed you.
I agree with this. High performance yields affluence and financial security but the only thing that really yields wealth is a generous helping of luck.
"but overall, if you are better off than most people, it is because you have had better luck than most people."
Or it could have been because they worked harder than other people...
I have at least three in my family and I know they worked for it...
I should have followed them...LOL
It will be 97 today, and across the street, I see some guys putting a new roof on a building. They will work hard. Not just today, they will work hard every day, and always have. They will never get rich. They haven't had much good luck in their lives.
I have never known a person who got rich through hard work. I have known some lucky enough to be in a position where hard work can make you richer than others in a similar position. Without good luck, hard work is limited to putting roofs on buildings when it's 97 degrees.
Luck puts you in a range of potential. Within that range, hard work adjusts where you will fall within that scale.
I was going to ask if there is anyone on this forum who is not a member of the 'Polar Opposite' club. But... I get it. Very clever. And this thread is much more entertaining (reading the posts of those who didn't... get it) than the other one. Keep defending yourselves all you little Marie Antoinettes. Quite entertaining.
In fact, let me do some ridiculous generalization and stereotyping like most all of you did on the other thread: Is it true that most wealth is inherited by lazy, binge-drinking frat morons in this nation (as opposed to 'working hard')? A hod carrier, roofer, or asphalt layer works harder than 99% of you. Will he be the next Oprah or Donald Trump?
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,814,296 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
I was going to ask if there is anyone on this forum who is not a member of the 'Polar Opposite' club. But... I get it. Very clever. And this thread is much more entertaining (reading the posts of those who didn't... get it) than the other one. Keep defending yourselves all you little Marie Antoinettes. Quite entertaining.
In fact, let me do some ridiculous generalization and stereotyping like most all of you did on the other thread: Is it true that most wealth is inherited by lazy, binge-drinking frat morons in this nation (as opposed to 'working hard')? A hod carrier, roofer, or asphalt layer works harder than 99% of you. Will he be the next Oprah or Donald Trump?
Why don't you go have some cake?
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A hod carrier, roofer, or asphalt layer works harder than 99% of you. Will he be the next Oprah or Donald Trump?