Investment Manager Explains Why 99.5% Of Americans Can Never Win

[Spiderman]

Of course it's a choice.

One can remain poor or one can improve his position.

It really is that simple. Not easy mind you but simple nonetheless.

Have you ever taken graduate-level economics classes? The truth about "success" has very little to do with purely hard work--many people work very, very hard. Wealth almost always is the result of (1) inheritance of land, property, position, or cash; (2) a very fortunate set of available "contacts"'; (3) purely unrepeatable and unpredictable luck; and/or (3) crime.

Exactly. They are still trying to convince us that Paris Hilton works harder than this guy:

The physicality of a job means nothing. Lugging boxes is mindless work.

I don't know too many people that haven't done grunt work in their lives sadly many of them never aspired to anything more.

 

[Spiderman]

You should make a movie and call it "how to be dirt poor and love every minute of it". You people are in such denial over so many issues that it simply takes my breath away.

I didn't love being poor.

Have you ever actually been poor? If not then you don't know shit about the poor.

I hated being poor so much that I actually did something about it. And I didn't do anything that anyone else couldn't do if they wanted to.

But I have learned that most people don't want to do anything but complain.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Contrary to popular conservative opinion, in the vast majority of cases, the poor are NOT poor because they choose to be.

But an awful lot of them are poor because of the choices they've made.

Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

 

[expat_panama]

...graduate-level economics classes? The truth about "success" has very little to do with purely hard work--many people work very, very hard... ... almost always is the result of (1) inheritance of land, property, position, or cash; (2) a very fortunate set of available "contacts"'; (3) purely unrepeatable and unpredictable luck; and/or (3) crime.

Huh, if that's how they achieve success in getting a good grade in your econ class, then you forgot to include "(4) affirmative action".

 

[orogenicman]

Have you ever taken graduate-level economics classes? The truth about "success" has very little to do with purely hard work--many people work very, very hard. Wealth almost always is the result of (1) inheritance of land, property, position, or cash; (2) a very fortunate set of available "contacts"'; (3) purely unrepeatable and unpredictable luck; and/or (3) crime.

Exactly. They are still trying to convince us that Paris Hilton works harder than this guy:

The physicality of a job means nothing. Lugging boxes is mindless work.

I don't know too many people that haven't done grunt work in their lives sadly many of them never aspired to anything more.

So what you are saying is that farm workers are stupid. Got it.

 

[orogenicman]

You should make a movie and call it "how to be dirt poor and love every minute of it". You people are in such denial over so many issues that it simply takes my breath away.

I didn't love being poor.

Have you ever actually been poor? If not then you don't know shit about the poor.

I hated being poor so much that I actually did something about it. And I didn't do anything that anyone else couldn't do if they wanted to.

But I have learned that most people don't want to do anything but complain.

Your problem is that you believe that everyone on the planet has the same opportunities and live under the same circumstances as you. In the real world that isn't the case. Guess again.

 

[orogenicman]

Contrary to popular conservative opinion, in the vast majority of cases, the poor are NOT poor because they choose to be.

But an awful lot of them are poor because of the choices they've made.

Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

Does a poor child CHOOSE to be born into a poor family in a poor neighborhood? Really?

What chance does this child have?

Or this family?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

An Investment Manager's View - Business Insider

"In my view, the American dream of striking it rich is merely a well-marketed fantasy that keeps the bottom 99.5% hoping for better and prevents social and political instability," the manager wrote in an email to Professor G. William Domhoff of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

A lot more at the link.

thanks

 

[jasonnfree]

Right, so your solution for people who work their arses off with little to show for it is for them to work their arses off even more. Wow, what a brilliant idea, particularly for poor single working mothers with all the time in the world <sarcasm>.

I don't define one 40 hour a week job as working your ass off..

And even a single mother can find a way to make 100 bucks a week.

But you'll always come up with an excuse as to why you or they can't. After all if you actually did something to improve your position then you'd have nothing to complain about then what would you do?

Me or they? This isn't about me, gufus. It is about the working poor, many who do, in fact, work more that 40 hours per week, many who do, in fact, have more than one job, many who do, in fact, work their arses off at low paying jobs in an economy that pretty much is all about low paying jobs. Perhaps it is you who should appreciate what you have, and stop trying to pull the rug out from under those who have so much less. Sometimes I really think that conservatives were born with a selfish gene turned on at full tilt.

The ones that burn the candle at both ends many times have jobs with no vacation or sick time. No time for themselves to enjoy the little things in life. Factor in if you have children you're shortchanging them on time. (Maybe your wife too) Not showing up at little league games or school plays. Whether you finally do well or not in the end, you lost a lot of time that can't be bought back. This happened to a brother in law of mine. He ended up finally having a good net worth but his kids don't much care for or respect him. He was never there for them with the time needed to be spent.

 

[expat_panama]

... 99.5% Of Americans Can Never Win...

Contrary to popular conservative opinion, in the vast majority of cases, the poor are NOT poor because they choose to be.

But an awful lot of them are poor because of the choices they've made. Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

Does a poor child CHOOSE to be born into a poor family in a poor neighborhood? Really? What chance does this child have?

Or this family?

You understand that you started out talking not only about "the vast majority", we're talking about 99.5% of America today. That's over 310 million people. Today. That's not the depression era family from 70 years ago, and it's certainly not that starving child in Indonesia. We're talking about 99.5% of America.



Unless of course you've changed the thread topic without telling anyone.

 

[orogenicman]

... 99.5% Of Americans Can Never Win...

But an awful lot of them are poor because of the choices they've made. Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

Does a poor child CHOOSE to be born into a poor family in a poor neighborhood? Really? What chance does this child have?

Or this family?

You understand that you started out talking not only about "the vast majority", we're talking about 99.5% of America today. That's over 310 million people. Today. That's not the depression era family from 70 years ago, and it's certainly not that starving child in Indonesia. We're talking about 99.5% of America.



Unless of course you've changed the thread topic without telling anyone.

I was talking about the vast majority of poor people. Go back and read what I posted.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

Does a poor child CHOOSE to be born into a poor family in a poor neighborhood? Really?

What chance does this child have?

Again... varying degrees of luck and choices they make, you are presenting examples of those with a lot more bad luck which I certainly acknowledge countless examples exist.

However there are also those that remain poor because of poor choices, often in addition to some initial bad luck. The young person who drops out of high school and has three kids by age 19, the guy who ends up in jail for being caught repeatedly selling drugs and stealing. It is a measure of luck, and a measure of choices.

I'm not sure why you're trying to spin my argument into an absolute position that I never took.

 

[boedicca]

...millions simply don't have the money to spare because despite working their arses off, they don't make enough money to think about saving it?

I'm not sure where you are going with this...

Maybe I can help.

The article points out that since the recession real median incomes have fallen even while stock prices have grown. One possibility is that the rich have stolen from the poor, but if we look at more of this trend--

-- we see that the theft did not occur until 2009, and that was the year that power was taken from the rich and seized by the community activists.

Orogofuglyfossil is the heartbreak of economic illiteracy on parade.

The Fed has grossly expanded the money supply. Money seeks assets - the preferred classes of which over the past few years have been stock, high end real estate, and artwork/collectibles. Inflation doesn't just show up in consumer goods - stock are inflated as well.

 

[orogenicman]

Being poor comes down to varying degrees of luck and what choices you've made.

Does a poor child CHOOSE to be born into a poor family in a poor neighborhood? Really?

What chance does this child have?

Again... varying degrees of luck and choices they make, you are presenting examples of those with a lot more bad luck which I certainly acknowledge countless examples exist.

However there are also those that remain poor because of poor choices, often in addition to some initial bad luck. The young person who drops out of high school and has three kids by age 19, the guy who ends up in jail for being caught repeatedly selling drugs and stealing. It is a measure of luck, and a measure of choices.

I'm not sure why you're trying to spin my argument into an absolute position that I never took.

Please check your quotations. I did not make the first statement you quoted.

 

[orogenicman]

I'm not sure where you are going with this...

Maybe I can help.

The article points out that since the recession real median incomes have fallen even while stock prices have grown. One possibility is that the rich have stolen from the poor, but if we look at more of this trend--

-- we see that the theft did not occur until 2009, and that was the year that power was taken from the rich and seized by the community activists.

Orogofuglyfossil is the heartbreak of economic illiteracy on parade.

The Fed has grossly expanded the money supply. Money seeks assets - the preferred classes of which over the past few years have been stock, high end real estate, and artwork/collectibles. Inflation doesn't just show up in consumer goods - stock are inflated as well.

Which has fuck all to do with anything I've said here. If you are trying to refute what I actually said:

"millions simply don't have the money to spare because despite working their arses off, they don't make enough money to think about saving it",

You failed miserably.

But you knew that already.

 

[GHook93]

An Investment Manager's View - Business Insider

"In my view, the American dream of striking it rich is merely a well-marketed fantasy that keeps the bottom 99.5% hoping for better and prevents social and political instability," the manager wrote in an email to Professor G. William Domhoff of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

A lot more at the link.

What a crock of shit! So some "anonymous" investment manager stated this to a liberal communist professor, who ironically struck it rich in America. Let's say the communist professor is being truthful and this investment banker is real (which I doubt), who gives a fuck? What makes him/her the expert? Let's go through the facts. Anyone in this country can get and education and get a $100K+ job if they work hard! If you make $100K in the US that isn't striking it rich, but that is making it. You will be able to own a home, nice car, flat screen TV and provide for your family. Yes it much much harder if you start from nothing and come from the liberal hell holes known as the inner city public school system, but everyone has a shot. Some have a harder time then others, but everyone has a shot!

My father came from nothing on the South side of Chicago and became a millionaire. I had the advantage my undergrad was paid for, but I had to work hard to get a corporate inhouse legal job and there was a lot of hardship and misses along the way.

 

[orogenicman]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=acLW1vFO-2Q"]George Carlin ~ The American Dream - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Spiderman]

You should make a movie and call it "how to be dirt poor and love every minute of it". You people are in such denial over so many issues that it simply takes my breath away.

I didn't love being poor.

Have you ever actually been poor? If not then you don't know shit about the poor.

I hated being poor so much that I actually did something about it. And I didn't do anything that anyone else couldn't do if they wanted to.

But I have learned that most people don't want to do anything but complain.

Your problem is that you believe that everyone on the planet has the same opportunities and live under the same circumstances as you. In the real world that isn't the case. Guess again.

Your problem is you think people are helpless and utterly incapable of helping themselves.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Please check your quotations. I did not make the first statement you quoted.

Sorry that was me messing up my response. I'll try to explain more clearly.

Me = Being poor is a combination of luck and choices, to varying degrees.

You = Look at these pictures I found of starving people you think they made choices?

What you did is take my position and argue against something completely different, I never claimed every poor person is that way only because of choices they've made. I was quite clear that is was a combination of the two factors, some people more bad luck some people more bad choices. You finding pictures of people from the depression era doesn't present a sound argument against the fact many people are poor because they consistently make poor choices.

 

[expat_panama]

If you are trying to refute what I actually said: "millions simply don't have the money to spare because...

She's not and that's not now it works.

What it's sounding like so far is something about how much money it is that some number of millions of people somewhere have, and something else about what you say you know about their other expenses and what they can afford to do. You're offering claims and you're not done because haven't quite supported the claims with the necessary convincing evidence.

We understand that you feel very sure of this, so please share any links to all the hard numbers you got that support your claim. We can work together on this and this is an important issue.