[extropy-chat] Why I am No Longer a Libertarian Either...

[J. Andrew Rogers]

On 7/27/05 7:07 PM, "Robert Lindauer" <robgobblin at aol.com> wrote:
> I'm going to make an a priori guess: far and away the most important
> factor for becoming a millionaire in the United States is having
> millionaire parents.  I actually think this matter is decided
> empirically too.  Luck is only a very small factor as is skill or IQ,
> etc.  Overwhelmingly inheriting money is the best way to ensure your own
> wealth.


More clueless bloviating.  Instead of making an ass out of yourself by
making random guesses that are grossly wrong and trivially verifiable as
such, perhaps you should spend a little more time on an education.  You talk
an awful lot for having so little to say.


The coarse statistics for millionaires in the US:  90% are self-made (i.e.
they earned it), and two-thirds are "blue-collar".  Inherited wealth is a
negligible sliver of the statistical pie for how one becomes a millionaire,
and always has been in the US.  State lotteries probably mint more
millionaires than inheritance.  On a purely anecdotal level, I know gobs of
millionaires and not a single one that actually inherited their money.  That
the majority of millionaires built their fortunes as blue-collar workers
tells you most of what you need to know about what factors matter most:
thriftiness and hard work.  Throw in a little ambition and you are well on
your way to some serious wealth.

I'm guessing you don't like this answer because it does not give you many
good excuses for why you never got your slice of the millionaire pie. It is
much easier to blame the rich man keepin' da po' man down.  Thriftiness and
hard work put a crimp in your lifestyle.

Nobody said it was easy but the "hard" part revolves almost entirely around
having discipline.  And discipline is something anyone can develop and
foster, not just the children of rich white people.


J. Andrew Rogers