Let's Talk About the Rich

In today’s warped and narcissistic consumer culture, idolization of the rich and powerful has been turned into a religion.

The constant TV shows and specials about this or that millionaire or billionaire keep the vast majority of the public spellbound by wealth and falsely give them the illusion that they too can be rich.

Becoming a millionaire or billionaire is taught and implanted into the heads of the public as the pinnacle of achievement. It’s the aim around which everything revolves around, no matter what the ways to get there are.

But it’s all a part of the subtle brainwashing and conditioning of the dumbed-down public to see the wealthy 1% as intelligent and hard-working people who made their riches through good decisions, judgment, and sacrifice. People are manipulated into accepting the wealthy as good, as people to be revered and respected.

The insinuation is that ‘you too may be wealthy like these people someday, so you shouldn’t talk mean about them.’

This fake carrot has been dangled in front of the gullible public for decades now. The main aim of this false premise is to force the people into shutting up and stop criticizing the wealthy and their actions. It’s also to smear any person that dares to criticize the wealthy, and who airs out their dirty laundry of fraud, deceit, and thievery for all to see as ‘engaging in class warfare,’ being a ‘socialist,’ and ‘Anti-American.’

People who criticize the wealthy are demonized as losers, as lazy, stupid, and if all else fails, jealous.

This worship of the wealthy is primarily driven by the stale myth that every wealthy person in America got to where they are because of great ideas, dedication and hard work.

But the historical facts are not as kind to the rich. Self-made millionaires/billionaires who made their money by doing something revolutionary only number about 13% in the US overall. The vast majority of them were either born into wealth and inherited it, or earned it by hook, crook, and murder.

For example, JP Morgan, the great financier of the 20th century started his fortune selling shoddy and defective second-hand rifles to the Union Army during the civil war.

The other great industrialists were no better, and the immense wealth they enjoyed came from the blood and sweat and exploitation of their legions of miserable workers and numerous dirty tricks.

Today, speculators and hedge fund managers who make tens, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars a year are a great example of how the rich get rich.

These people are the vultures of society. They don’t do any meaningful and honest work, but get paid vast sums of money that the average worker will never see in multiple lifetimes.

There is no one in this world that deserves a salary of millions or billions of dollars a year, no one! It doesn’t matter what school they went to, how smart they think they are, and what position they’re in.

For one person to be getting so much money is terribly wasteful and unfair. How many people had to lose their jobs, retirement pensions, homes or life-savings just so one of these already-wealthy vultures could collect their $5 million bonus on top of an already disgustingly high salary of millions or billions of dollars?

How much is enough for these people? Excess wealth is a sickness, an addiction. It’s not normal at all!

No one in this world should be making more than $500,000-including salary, stock options, bonuses, etc. This amount is already way above the average working person’s pay per year.

Anyone who thinks $500,000 is too little is abnormal, period.

These excess salaries are also a drain on the economy, because it doesn’t get spent at home. It will be put into Wall St. investments and expensive goods in another state or country, contributing nothing to the local economy.

The average worker who’s given a raise will spend most if not all of that extra money locally, making the economy better.

So contrary to popular belief, the rich can’t save us. Their vast sums don’t equal more spending by the wealthy because they won’t go to the store and buy 300 pairs of jeans, twenty new cars, or buy 500 meals at a restaurant at one time. There’s a limited amount the wealthy will buy. The rest of the money they make gets saved or invested, creating no long-term value for the wider economy.


The very presence of millionaires and billionaires in any society is a sign of serious dysfunction. It means that there is a chronically uneven distribution of income, and such a situation doesn't bode well for the long-term economic well-being of any country.

My criticism of the rich is not driven by personal resentment. I’m angry at the ones who do despicable things to the people below them, and who profit from exploitation or theft.

If tomorrow I won $100 million in the lottery, my thoughts about the rich wouldn’t change. I’d still live a modest life, contribute to the community in which I live, and I’d give zero dollars to the Wall St. or hedge fund vermin.

My thoughts of rich and poor are inspired by Charles Wagner. He spoke of the bad rich and good poor and vice versa. Not all rich people are venal and greedy.

But most of the wealthy out there are jerks that just don’t care about those below them. This is especially true about the rich of today.

I recently read the results of a poll done where people were asked if they prefer socialism even though it means everyone has less or capitalism with poor people and millionaires.

Sadly, too many people opted for capitalism even though it meant that some people will end up poor. This is a sad indictment of the human race as a whole. It shows how very far we are from being truly civilized. That someone would rather have another person be poor so they themselves end up with more is just disgusting.

The rich are the ultimate representation of the materialistic disease that affects capitalist economies. It infects peoples’ mind and judgment. It makes them want more, want bigger and better everything. There’s never enough. It’s a constant race to out-buy the other person and show off that new possession, even if it leaves people in debt or ends in bankruptcy.

As long as this sick behavior is present in society, and people don’t learn to curb their needs and wants, and become modest, the rich will get away with whatever greasy methods they employ. And they will continue to be fed by the weak-willed people below them.