The Rich Get Richer, AGAIN

[VJW]

Yeah, but that’s always been the case. Why has income mobility gotten so much more dramatically worse since the early 1980s, when at the same time there has been such a concentration of wealth from massive tax cuts ?

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[jmjj215]

Originally Posted by VJW

That is just more of the “Millionaire Next Door” theory, which has been shown to be a rigged study.

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That statement was made based on my own personal experience - mainly with relatives who lived below their means, prudently invested, and now live quite well. Not decamillionaires, but comfortable. Both of them w/o college degrees actually. Their dad taught them to work and it paid off.

[asha]

Originally Posted by jmjj215

I believe a big factor in the rich getting richer is that they can afford risk. So in the long run, their returns are much, much greater.

agree 100%

[asha]

I'm, like, the 56millionth richest person in the world which is pretty good given there are 5.5 billion people in the world. It makes me feel as if though Billl Gates and I should be on first name basis!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by SuzeOFan

In the U.S. you have every opportunity to become wealthy.

The idealistic part of me wants to believe this, but the realistic part of me has a hard time doing so.

I work in the poorest city in the state and I see the lack of opportunity all around me. Kids raised in broken homes by abusive parents or parents with addiction issues. Some are constantly bounced from one parent to another to grandparents to neighbors. They go to lousy schools. They get raised on junk food and get inadequate medical care. They live in homes without heat or air conditioning or telephone service. It is pretty tough to imagine any of these people ending up rich. Could it happen? Sure, but it's pretty darn unlikely.

[pyotr]

There's always the Lottery. Also they could always sue their doctors for tons of ready cash.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by pyotr

There's always the Lottery. Also they could always sue their doctors for tons of ready cash.

The sad thing is that many of these people play the lottery religiously. If they would just save that money, they could be much more comfortable even if nothing else changed. I heard a report a while back that something like 70% of lottery tickets are bought by people earning less than 25K/year.

As for the doctor comment, being a physician I won't even comment on that.

[VJW]

Originally Posted by jmjj215

That statement was made based on my own personal experience - mainly with relatives who lived below their means, prudently invested, and now live quite well. Not decamillionaires, but comfortable. Both of them w/o college degrees actually. Their dad taught them to work and it paid off.

Jesse,

Which is why, as we previously discussed, anecdotal examples are not a wise basis for general theories.

:]

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[poundwise]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

The idealistic part of me wants to believe this, but the realistic part of me has a hard time doing so.

I work in the poorest city in the state and I see the lack of opportunity all around me. Kids raised in broken homes by abusive parents or parents with addiction issues. Some are constantly bounced from one parent to another to grandparents to neighbors. They go to lousy schools. They get raised on junk food and get inadequate medical care. They live in homes without heat or air conditioning or telephone service. It is pretty tough to imagine any of these people ending up rich. Could it happen? Sure, but it's pretty darn unlikely.

The opportunity still exists, there are just many unaware, uninterested, and disillusioned among the disadvantaged. Mentality plays a large part in how "these people" turn out. I know many success stories of men and women born in projects to broken homes who are now business people, nurses, doctors, and one who is a judge.

Fact is, in many other countries, people who are born in poverty have no realistic hope of doing anything excepting living their entire life in poverty. In America, you do have opportunities to do something about it through many routes.

[VJW]

Originally Posted by poundwise

Fact is, in many other countries, people who are born in poverty have no realistic hope of doing anything excepting living their entire life in poverty. In America, you do have opportunities to do something about it through many routes.

The evidence is just the opposite.

As I mentioned upthread, the recent revelations concerning the lack of income mobility in America was advanced in a whitepaper done by an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. As I posted then:

"The paper reveals that income mobility between generations has been falling since the radical change in our tax system in the early 1980s, whereas in prior decades to that it had been rising. Now, most children of rich parents stay rich, and most children of the poor stay poor. This is in stark contrast to nations such as Canada, Finland, France, and Germany, as well as to our own nation’s history prior to the shift to failed RightWing economics in 1981."

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[lrjohnson]

Originally Posted by poundwise

The opportunity still exists, there are just many unaware, uninterested, and disillusioned among the disadvantaged. Mentality plays a large part in how "these people" turn out. I know many success stories of men and women born in projects to broken homes who are now business people, nurses, doctors, and one who is a judge.

Fact is, in many other countries, people who are born in poverty have no realistic hope of doing anything excepting living their entire life in poverty. In America, you do have opportunities to do something about it through many routes.

I've had this discussion a few times. I work in the welfare business; it's a topic that comes up. The thing for me is: yes, an outstanding child can be born into very poor circumstances and end up very successful. My issue is that we shouldn't require our kids to be outstanding to escape poverty. A child with regular gifts as far as brains and talent should be able to get out of poverty.

[jmjj215]

A child with regular gifts as far as brains and talent should be able to get out of poverty.

I agree. Let's just make sure we educate them out of it - and not try and "handout" them out of it. That doesn't work.