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They do exist. Usually children of upper middle class, comfortable families who decry the "injustice" in the world and preach from their sheltered, protected background about how terrible the "rich" are. Totally hypocritical.
I know what you mean. This type of attitude is very patronizing.
I know a woman that owns a house in Santa Monica ,she bought it years ago so has quite a bit of equity. Also savings in sure from investments over the years .the other days she was mentioning about a business and how it caters to " regular people like us , not rich people " . She is definitely in the comfortable category ,so it's kind of annoying for her to say that when there are people struggling.
I've found it that it's extremely rare for a rich person to describe themselves as rich .
How you define someone as rich definitely depends on where you are in the income or asset scale.
If you make min wage , the person making $100k is rich .
But for a CEO making $5 million plus , $100k is chump change..
I have spent considerable time reading about the rich for years . It's a topic that interests me.
Id like to think that the houses of Beverly Hills , bel air and other " rich " neighborhoods are filled with people that worked within the system and treat their employees fairly.
I love reading the stories of the immigrant that moved here with nothing and built a business from scratch .
Or the guy or girl that hit it big despite all the people telling them they wouldn't make It.
They serve as inspiration ,
When you realize that the rich are just people too and many didn't inherit wealth and you learn the steps they took , attaining wealth for yourself doesn't seem as out of reach.
If you have the attitude that " that guy has money he must of screwed someone "
You most likely wont ever gain wealth .
Right now there is a huge number of social entrepreneurs that are redefining business.
For profit businesses with a social mission.
The signs are everywhere that being an entrepreneur is cool again .
The Great Recession no doubt fueled that with the massive layoffs and job insecurity .
If you are interested in hearing the story of millionaires and how they actually did it that go beyond the fluff pieces in the mainstream media I would recommend the eventual millionaire podcast . It's totally free and the host interviews some very interesting individuals that built successful businesses .
Id like to think that the houses of Beverly Hills , bel air and other " rich " neighborhoods are filled with people that worked within the system and treat their employees fairly.
Maybe true at one time, but the pressures and temptations to "circumvent" the system abound now.
I love reading the stories of the immigrant that moved here with nothing and built a business from scratch .
Again, unfortunately, an anachronism. As a teacher I see the ridiculous number of immigrants who have very few choices for advancement.
Or the guy or girl that hit it big despite all the people telling them they wouldn't make It.
A nice concept, and valid for some. Sadly, there are significantly more being told they have to accept the fact that they will not "make" it despite sincere and valid effort on their part. It is not fair to deny the fact that the workplace has become a hostile place for the majority of workers at many levels. Corporations have exercised amazing influence and turned back the clock on compensation, work conditions, and labor rights. Just "working hard" and "not being last", unfortunately, have little value anymore. How does hard work compensate for a house that is underwater because of manipulation of the market? How do you "work" to compensate for losing half or more of your investments due to market manipulation? How does being a good worker compensate for gasoline prices ballooning due to commodities traders manipulations. Dreaming and hoping is great, and does motivate people, but reality cannot be denied and must be dealt with.
With many rich people , you can't even tell they are rich by looking at them . You have to dig much deeper .
Absolutely true for some, but many work hard to flash their wealth (real or not) and be noticed for it.
I believe that a lot of the frustration with the "rich" is due to real factors about the changing marketplace, and that if there are not some corrections we are headed for financial problems, a two class system, and a declining economy. Despite what many "wealthy" people claim, they do not support a strong economy. A thriving middle class makes an economy strong, and if financial wealth is not properly distributed, the economy will collapse.
I believe that a lot of the frustration with the "rich" is due to real factors about the changing marketplace, and that if there are not some corrections we are headed for financial problems, a two class system, and a declining economy. Despite what many "wealthy" people claim, they do not support a strong economy. A thriving middle class makes an economy strong, and if financial wealth is not properly distributed, the economy will collapse.
I agree with most of this as well. CEO pay has risen hundreds of times more than annual worker compensation. In my opinion Wall Street CEOS are way overpaid. This is because the super rich are the ones that hire CEOs and approve their salaries. It's just gotten way out of hand.
While I don't have much respect for the big Wall Street CEOs ,especially of large corporations that might treat employees badly and act unethically, I do have respect for the business owner that grows a successful business and I do think they should benefit from their efforts.
I agree with that corruption and manipulation on wall street. Regarding the housing bubble I remember thinking "how can all these people buy these expensive houses" of course it turned out they couldn't afford them.
Investing in anything is risky and a house is no different. Of course the whole mortgage mess caused a lot of problems for a lot of people. But I do not feel sorry for those that got into a loan they knew they couldn't afford.
No matter what regulations are put into place, there will be more bubbles. Generally when everyone is saying real estate is great it's not a good time to invest.
The prices were lowest when all the headlines said the real estate market was terrible.
According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, Los Angeles year after year tops the nation for this very reason, high immigrant populations. Of course, the majority are very small scale single proprietor businesses, but they're not sitting around festering about their lot and class warfare at least. Now, an element that the OP talks about does exist. I just don't see them as totalizing the character of L.A.'s vast working class any more than that same element existing in other cities defines their working class. So it's an "OK, sure I get it...but..." kind of agreement from me.
I graduated from FIDM a couple of years ago and I work in marketing at a cosmetics company. My current salary is 40k, nothing fancy and enough to get by in where I live in Downtown LA.
I am originally from NYC and I love it there, but I decided that I wanted to live somewhere more laid back for when it's time to start a family. (I don't plan on living in downtown. I'm considering the suburbs when I really settle down)
But anyways, I've made several friends in college and out of college and I've noticed that a lot of people I met out here who are working class are OBSESSED with hating the rich. So many of my friends complain and mock those who can afford to live in Beverly Hills, the Palisades, Brentwood, Santa Monica, ect. I've also been doing a lot of research from perspectives of others on this forum and I notice the same.
Now, my fiance is studying to be a psychiatrist. He is already has his BS and is in medical school. After medical school (four years) he has to complete a three year psychiatry program (three years), totaling it to 11 years after high school he has to dedicate to study and as a result he will make at least 150k a year eventually graduating up to more as he works hard.
<b>I knew that by me choosing a career in cosmetics and only having an associates degree, I will never be upper class and I accepted that. I am content with living in my studio, living paycheck to paycheck because that is the choice I've made. If I wanted to live fabulous, I would do the same thing my fiance is doing and become a doctor or lawyer.</b>
I know too many people who came to LA straight out of high school wanting to live a glamorous life, meanwhile they did nothing to get there. I have NOTHING against working class people. I just have things against people who are into "get rich quick schemes" and feel entitled to this "Hollywood" life. I can't stand seeing people complain about people who make more money than they do, when these people have devoted their energy and time into getting these careers.
I know that this is not ALL the working class as I have surrounded myself with people who are very grateful and enjoy what LA has to offer. I just wonder why people judge people JUST because they have money and are more fortunate. I think that is so wrong.
The funny thing about what you just said is that if your *FIANCÉ* is going to be earning big bucks eventually, well, you will be living that life along with him once you're married, and so it's not true that you will "never be upper class", nor will you be living in that studio or doing the paycheck-to-paycheck thing forever.
Obviously that won't be for several years for you though, so I totally get your point...I bet it's just nice to see that you'll most likely not be struggling forever, since your guy is going to be raking in some major dough! I'm in a sort of similar situation...personally, I make about what you do, but my boyfriend makes a few times that, so I get to reap the benefits. (Not saying that's why I chose him, of course!)
Lots of pop psychology going around. For the most part the resentment people have in LA towards the rich is due to the grand canyon of a gap between the two classes. They're just venting out their frustration in less articulate ways. It's not really jealousy or envy at their wealth but their access to it, the opportunities they found, and even sometimes, yes, their luck.
Acting as though you're a better person because you don't engage in class envy is spurious. People should be angry that the gap is that big and that access to the top is becoming harder to reach. I hate it when people say that it's just jealousy, or envy or that with that attitiude you will never be rich, as though all rich people just had the right mindset which is why they're all rich. I mean that is how absurd some of you sound.
From my experiences the average Angeleno is down to Earth but they do think the other side of the class gap is irritating. As they should think so because the other half owns all the wealth, they control the jobs, and the wages. This gap didn't come as a result of some sad natural occurence, it came about because of the decisions of many people at the top who own and control the wealth.
Yes, it's naive for people at the bottom half to sit there and like immature teenagers complain about the rich, insisting they're more humbler than thou. but it's also naive of those aspiring to be in the top half or are in the top half to think that all working people are like that because they just lack the motivation, the right mindset, they need to tone down their class hatred, or think that all rich people made it to the top out of sheer libertarian rugged individualistic raw strength! LOL.
Lots of pop psychology going around. (snipped for brevity, but referring to the whole post)
Wow.
It's also irritating how some people like to rage on, fist a-pumpin', without offering one single piece of information on just how "other people" (never the fist-pumper himself, of course, he's absolved himself of that responsibility by pointing the finger) might actually "close that gap."
The funny thing about what you just said is that if your *FIANCÉ* is going to be earning big bucks eventually, well, you will be living that life along with him once you're married, and so it's not true that you will "never be upper class", nor will you be living in that studio or doing the paycheck-to-paycheck thing forever.
Women like this can be the pits though. My gf's sisters are like that to the core. They work their menial jobs but once they land a man with some serious green they act as though all that hard work, the toil and the brainpower is theirs too. I would see them get out of the dude's truck like it was theirs, wearing new shades, and talking as though they're planning on this or that for the weekend. Each time it's the same scenerio. Each time they break up and they end up alone. Not once did they try to do something for themselves but instead live off of other men and act as though what he carved out for himself is all theirs.
It's also irritating how some people like to rage on, fist a-pumpin', without offering one single piece of information on just how "other people" (never the fist-pumper himself, of course, he's absolved himself of that responsibility by pointing the finger) might actually "close that gap."
Guess anything can be irritating, eh?
Oh, lord you want to talk about closing the gap? That would take an entire systemic re-doing.
I didn't want to de-rail from the topic.
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