The US arguably remains the best country for individuals and families, including those who start with nothing, to exercise their economic freedoms and become well off. This is one main reason I can hardly comprehend current, insane leftist proposals to force communist programs and increasing government centralization down the throats of the American people, whatever their race, ethnicity, or gender. Part of the liberal strategy to trick people into voting for socialist policies is to lie repeatedly how wealth and equity are created in a free market economy, while hiding the fact that communist systems inevitably fail – literally 100% of the time – because they destroy all incentives to work hard and create wealth, leaving essentially no assets to pay for the promised equality and promised programs.
Right now in the US, the poorest 25% of US citizens live better, and earn more income, than 75% of the world. Millennials and other young Americans need to think about that! The bottom 25% of Americans are rich by world standards. This applies to all racial groups. American blacks are the richest group by far of black people in the world. There are no communist countries, and have never been any communist countries, whose citizens have as many things or as much money as citizens of the US. The median income of US households is over $60,000 per year. The median income of households in the world is approximately $9,000 per year. The median income of Sub-Saharan Africa is less than $1000 per year. Given these facts, someone advocating that the US become more like Venezuela, Mozambique, or China is truly stupid, insane, bent on the destruction of the US, or perhaps all of the above.
Workers in China, for example, the most celebrated communist country in the world, make less than 1/10th of the income made by US workers. And this despite the fact that China has easily accomplished its transition from rice paddies to high tech, not by their own creativity or excellence but from stealing every possible invention or idea from the West with the aid of corrupt politicians (Biden) and sickeningly disloyal US companies and CEOs, like Fink of Black Rock Company. China is so uncreative that it even ripped off Starbucks Coffee. One of the top coffee brands in China is called SUNBUCKS. I wonder where the BUCKS part of the name came from. Sunbucks Coffee is served in a green cup. I wonder why the Chinese picked a green cup. The Chinese steal everything and copy everything. Is that really the system we want to train our children to emulate?
For the time being, however, until Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, AOC, and other far left sympathizers destroy the country, it is still reasonably possible for middle class Americans to become millionaires. Consistent with other favorable data, the US is home to 40% of all the millionaires in the world [billionaires are much rarer]. There are only about 2,000 of them worldwide. Billionaires can be a huge benefit to their societies, although many are eccentric or even unstable mentally, because they often establish new businesses or even industries that can employ millions. But millionaires are much more common. Depending on how one defines and counts millionaires, as much as 8-10% of the US population are millionaires. Over 13 million US households are worth more than 1 million.
Particularly important for young people and minorities to note is the fact that the overwhelming majority, about 70%, of American millionaires were not born wealthy, they made it all themselves starting with nothing. That should give the average hardworking person hope, regardless of race or ethnicity. American millionaires come from a huge and diverse array of professions. US millionaires include small business owners, in almost every field (blue collar and white collar), farmers, bankers, stock brokers, construction contractors, professional athletes, actors and actresses, models, fast food franchise owners, doctors, accountants, lawyers, politicians, and consultants of every type and description. Of course, corrupt politicians who become fabulously wealthy are increasingly common in both parties. And these perverse, envious establishment politicians seem increasingly interested in preventing the average middle class nuclear family from prospering and becoming rich, so the corrupt elites will have a large heard of cattle to work and tax to death. But it is still possible now to become a millionaire.
Based on surveys of self-made millionaires, the keys to becoming a millionaire seem very simple. First, you have to work really hard. It is important to stay in school and learn a profession or trade, so you make more money per hour or day of labor. Second, you need to avoid big mistakes, such as having children out of wedlock, using drugs, being involved in criminal activity, and dropping out of school. If you are involved in any of those unwise behaviors, you will probably not end up rich. For example, single mothers with children from 3 or 4 different men are highly unlikely to end up well off. But generally [with rare exceptions], that is because of their choices, and not because of some kind of phantasmagorical privilege or imaginary white supremacy leadership that I have never been able to find. So called equity is not a matter of race or post-Civil War events, but is simply a matter of working hard for a long time and saving your money. Every American must build his own equity. Handouts are damaging and immoral.
Third, you must live within your means. When you do start to make money, you must ensure that you put yourself in a situation where you can save some money every month – even a small amount. Many people, including minorities, and even celebrities, are eager to spend money on flashy items the second they can afford them. Even poor George Floyd, having overdosed on Fentanyl and driving in an incoherent state of mind passing out counterfeit money, was driving a flashy light blue Mercedes SUV at the time of his arrest. What a stupid choice of vehicles for someone like Floyd. As far as I know, he was not a union carpenter, general contractor, or surgeon. How and why was he driving such a flashy car when essentially he was a petty criminal? Many celebrities do similar stupid things. I recall one NBA player who owned Rolls Royce’s in various colors running into the double digits. The average millionaire does not do stupid things like that. They save any extra money, so they can actually become rich, instead of just looking rich.
Many of my law school classmates bought really nice cars when they got their first well-paying jobs, even though most of them had significant student debt. That is not the smart move. The smart move is to take any extra money and either invest it or pay off your debts. Later, sometimes many years later, you can then reward yourself with a fancy car.
In summary, if you want to become one of Americas millions and millions of millionaires, follow these general rules:
(1) Finish high school and then get additional training, whether in vocational programs or in college. In getting your training make sure you are learning something that people will pay you for. There are very limited opportunities for employment of students who majored in gender studies, or Marxist theory. Study things that are useful to society, such as civil engineering, or welding.
(2) Do not engage in substance abuse of any kind. Drink moderately and stay away from drugs altogether, including cannabis.
(3) Do not have children out of wedlock and do not have any children at all until you can pay for them. It is not my job to pay for your children. That is your job.
(4) Live within your means. This includes picking a sensible place where you can afford to live. If you work at McDonalds, you should not plan on raising a family in Manhattan or in San Francisco. Move to Nebraska or Arkansas, where you can afford to live.
(5) Try to find a trustworthy spouse or life partner. The nuclear family is still the most powerful economic unit. That is why Marxists want to destroy the nuclear family: they know it generates a freedom and wealth that make capitalism possible. Find a spouse you can trust, and who will work hard with you and put your children’s needs first, and stick with him or her, as you save money together while having a good simple life.
(6) Do not make flashy purchases. Even big businesses sometimes fail by renting office space that is too fancy for their budget. Do not run out and buy a fancy car, or a big house, or $200 tennis shoes, until you can really afford them.
(7) When you have extra money, even a little, invest it wisely and conservatively in an IRA or your employer’s 401K. Two simple books you can read to begin to think about investing are: (1) Ben Stein’s, “The Capitalist Code”; and (2) Robert T. Kiyosaki’s, “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” I warn you however, that investing takes time and patience. It takes discipline. Millionaires are usually people who will deny themselves some short term pleasure for purchases to build a better nest egg for their families. It takes 20 or 30 years for most professionals to become millionaires. Of course, during that time they are becomingly progressively richer and a little safer from the uncertainty of life. But very few millionaires are made quickly. It takes time and discipline. Fundamentally, it is a matter of good character. This is what crazy liberals deliberately lie about: generating wealth through sustained human effort in a capitalist system is mainly a function of virtue and effort, not of privilege of skin color. A person of any skin color or gender can own a small business, work hard, and become rich. Again, 70% of all millionaires were not born with money.
It is a species of tough love to tell young people what it really takes to succeed in America. America is a tough place. It is an imperfect meritocracy. Many people have to try and try for years before they are successful. I have met many immigrants who express surprise at how competitive America really is. We draw some of the best talent in every field from countries all over the world. Accordingly, it is not surprising that countless people, foreign born or otherwise, find themselves to be lacking the knowledge, education, or training, to really thrive in the US. It is hard to be successful in a competitive society without taking short cuts or living very simply. Many young people are unrealistically grandiose or prideful. Most successful people work all kinds of jobs on their way up the ladder. I painted offices, mowed lawns, sold shoes, flipped pizzas, and pumped gas, and never thought I was too good to do any of those jobs. Yet, these days you sometimes run into prideful young people, people with limited talent, bad habits, and very little work ethic, who act like they should be treated like some king or queen from fabled Xanadu. They want to be driving a car like George Floyd’s light blue Mercedes upon flipping their first cheese burger. That is not how it works in the real world. No one starts at the top of the pyramid; most of us start at the bottom. But with honest effort we can climb our way towards the top.
Copyright 2022 in Paul H. Beattie. All rights reserved.
Notes from the Secular Right 