People believing in Class Warfare argue that the rich are getting richer at the Middle Class’ expense. The theory goes that the rich conspire with each other to squeeze more money from those that aren’t rich. They also work hard to make sure that nobody makes it into the economic upper class.
Have we really gotten poorer?
A good way to answer that question is to look at the average middle class family.
Take one family from the mid 1970s and another from the 21st Century. Why? People like to point to the early 1970s as the “height” of our earning power. It’s the “beginning” of the “erosion” of the Middle Class.
Let’s zero in on the master room.
The master room, for the average mid 1970s middle class family, had a queen or king size bed. The woman of the house had a vanity and a dresser. You’ll find one or two tower dressers. The man of the house had a desk, some with typewriters others with just a phone. Many had legal pads, pencils, pens and a dictionary.
What about the master room for the average middle class family in the 21st Century? You’ll generally find the same things, but you’ll find more.
The desk holds a computer, printer, and wireless-internet router. An internet cable runs to the computer. The phone sits between the printer and the computer. A television sits on one of the tower dressers. A couple of cell phones charge on top of the dresser.
How would today’s poor compare to the Middle Class of the 1970s? As a population, the American poor have more computers, cars, washers, driers and televisions than the entire population of some European countries.
If we, the Middle Class and the Poverty Class, are getting worse, how could the above comparisons be possible?
The rich getting richer, and poor getting poorer, is mostly about attitude and mindset.
The saying, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer!” actually means something else. It’s similar to the saying, “Success breeds success!”
If you act and think like you’ll never get anywhere in life, that’s precisely what’s going to happen. If you gear yourself to succeed, and do what it takes to reach your goals, you’ll increase your chances of success.
Take a look at the people with college degrees, compared to those that don’t.
Not everybody is born into a rich family. Many parents don’t pay for their children’s college. Students that pay their own way have to find another financial path towards their degree. They could’ve said, “I can’t afford it!” They could’ve also said, “I simply don’t have the time!”
Since they wanted to get the degree, they didn’t let those two, or other, obstacles get into their way. They took out loans, joined the military or took advantage of employer tuition assistance. They made the time for college by sacrificing time wasting activities.
This decision to complete college leads to a career path to the top.
College graduates enrich their education and knowledge. Another thing happens. Opportunities open up for them that remain closed for their peers. Many managed to get white collar positions. These are positions with career tracks leading to the top.
Education is just one path to the top. Education alone won’t drive someone to the peak. Something inside the person, with the degree, pushes him to the top.
Whether it’s a degree, business talent, the will to make more money, or something else, it’s attitude and will that separates the rich from the poor.
When it comes to success, your attitude is either a barrier or a silver bullet.
The rich don’t want to hold everybody else down.
The rich and super rich have other issues to deal with. They don’t have time to cook up plans to keep you down.
It’s like the master widget maker. Chances are strong that this widget maker is looking for ways to make better widgets. This includes improving the process and technology for his trade.
He’s not trying to figure out ways to make it impossible for another widget maker to join him.
The rich are the same way. In fact, many rich people have written books to help other people become rich. Many have taken protegees under their belts. The rich do care about other people. They also want to see others succeed. Everybody benefits when there’s more wealthy people around.
Granted, rich people will find ways to out perform other rich people in their fields. That’s like you competing with other people for a job position or job promotion. That’s business.
Most rich people are more than happy to show others how they could enjoy similar success. Just like work. Even if you don’t get the job promotion, even if co-workers undermine each other, you’ll find many of them willing to answer your job related questions.
The poor people’s decisions and attitudes keep them down, they’re their own obstacle.
People are rich, poor, or in the middle, because of decisions they’ve made in life. Nobody is stopping a person from improving themselves.
An unemployed person sees a, “now hiring, apply inside,” sign. That person can go inside and apply, or ignore that sign and continue being unemployed. If an unemployed person passes by a McDonalds Restaurant with a “Now Hiring” sign on its door, and she fails to go in to fill out an application, then it’s her fault that she’s still unemployed.
People who make the right financial and personal decisions populate the middle class.
People’s “will” and willingness to succeed, created the middle class. The “New Deal” didn’t do it. The labor unions didn’t do it either. The New Deal prolonged economic recovery, and the labor unions have long outlived their original purpose. The later actually acts as a headwind to businesses being more competitive.
Washington D.C. may put a policy in place that causes your retirement to lose value, or you to lose a job.
But, your investment decisions are that, decisions. You lose money, or gain it, depending on your stock market related decisions. It’s up to you to know which stocks those are, and to invest accordingly. Even if you’re employed, you need a “Plan B.” it doesn’t hurt to keep your resume updated, and to continue to scan the job market, “just in case.”
This is an example of operating with a “success breeds success,” or “rich get richer,” mindset. Poor planning, lack of personal responsibility and lack of personal accountability are examples of how a person can vote themselves to the bottom of the economic ladder.