What's considered rich?

[185248]

Two posts and absolutely zero contribution.....why did I expect more?

Because I gave an answer that would enrich Man2's perspective, and Man1 probably become wealthier along similar lines for maybe meeting Man2. You said Man1 has friends, Man2 might not like meeting friends.

If Man1 is happy and has a job, blows his money whooping it up, good on him, if man2 is happy where he is, investing and not getting out, good for him also. Nothing needs to be distributed.

Don't expect the answer you 'want' to hear if you pose a hypothetical question to the public. How many answers do you want, there are a million to that question.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

That's rich in my opinion. Just because they don't spend it wisely doesn't mean that they aren't rich.

That's not rich... its merely affluent.


If your standard of living is dependent upon your labor... you are NOT rich.
No matter how well paid you are.


If you could quit working for a check tomorrow, and your standard of living can continue un-diminished, then you are rich.

On the high end... Steve Jobs worked hard because he loved what he did. But his salary as CEO was $1/year.

The Kock Bros have worked... but not in the sense that you and I have... they inherited massive wealth and have done nothing but spend money to try and make sure government policy makes them richer without their having to contribute or innovate.


But on the low end... I know older people who worked hard all their lives, saved and invested, put money into annuities and pensions, and as a result were able to retire and keep living as they had when they were working...

But the only way that happens without your standard of living declining is if your investments continue to grow DESPITE the fact that you are living off of them...

For example... today, most stock portfolios and investment strategies are doing well to earn 4-5%.

If you can live a comfortable life on only 2% of those earnings... then the other 2-3% rolls right over into your portfolio, and over time your portfolio and HOW MUCH IT PAYS will grow, despite what you take out.

If this growth exceeds the rate of inflation... then congratulations, you are financially independent...even the 2% you take as income ill keep getting larger every year, like getting a raise.


Like this... 5 million bucks in a stock portfolio earning 5% will bring in $250,000 per year.

If you can live happily on $125,000 per year, then the OTHER $125K Rolls over and NEXT year you get 5% of $5,125,000.

Taking half THAT earning means your income that year is $128,125... A $3,125 increase without you having to lift a finger.
The year after that you get $131,328- a $3,203 raise... SEE? even the AMOUNT of increase increases each year.

And if you can keep living on the same $125K, you just get to roll that much more over, that much faster, and the money just keeps growing.

Despite living comfortably and not having to work... Your investments will DOUBLE over 12 years. And so will your income.


THAT is rich.

But even earning a million dollars a day is not rich if you daily spend $1,000,001.

 

[798686]

I always pose this question when this topic comes up.

Take two men.

The first man spends his days on the beach. He is a very good looking guy. He has his pick of beautiful women or men. He has plenty of friends and goes to parties every weekend.

The second man spends his days at home. He is not attractive at all and his face is filled with acne. He is bound to a wheel chair and has never had sex. He has no friends and spends his weekends where he spends his days.

The first man has a minimum wage job where he makes $12k a year. The Second man is an engineer and makes over $100k a year.

Who is wealthier? And how to we redistribute it?

^This.

Is rich merely financial? Or...are the wealthy (some of them) trying to earn enough to have a life like the first guy already has?

 

[helgaleena]

^This.

Is rich merely financial? Or...are the wealthy (some of them) trying to earn enough to have a life like the first guy already has?

^ This :biggrin:

 

[589189]

^ Jolli is stuck at the part that says "take two men..."

 

[petite]

Phil, that's your definition of rich. I don't agree with you. I never said that there aren't people even richer than that. I said that IMO, that's rich. IMO, just because someone spends every penny of what they have, that doesn't mean that they're not rich, it means that they spend too much.

You really didn't have to explain how to live off of one's investments. I already know all that.

Was "Kock" a Freudian typo, or a humorous intentional misspelling?

 

[rob_just_rob]

I kind of agree with Phil's point, to an extent.

Back in the days of yore, there were three classes: the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class. The upper class were the landed nobility, the middle class were the business owners, and the lower class were the workers. The lower class was probably 95% of the population, using those definitions.

The lower class was getting screwed over a lot of the time, and would periodically rebel. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

To combat the problem these revolting poor/lower class people were, the term 'middle class' got co-opted to include anyone with what was a 'middle income' - including those of us who work for someone else, which is what most people still are. This was a useful piece of propaganda, because a) nobody likes to think they're 'lower class', b) it gave the people in the 'lower classes' a realistic goal (go to college, get a degree, or just work hard/smart enough... and you too can be "middle class). But most important was c) If you tell people who are working class that they're middle class, they'll start to believe that they're better off than they really are, and their attitudes towards relief of the poor will shift accordingly. Most people who see themselves as "middle class" are not going to be sympathetic to (for example) unions, welfare programs, government redistribution of wealth, or revolutions. That suits the real middle class - the large business owners, the truly wealthy people - just fine. They keep their money, and the system that benefits them keeps chugging along.

But I digress. A rich person is one who has enough money that no reasonable person would have financial worries. As a wise man once said... your lifestyle will expand to fit your income.

 

[798686]

^ Jolli is stuck at the part that says "take two men..."

Shall I? :tongue: