Episode 477: Why Complaining That “The Rich Always Get Richer!” Misses the Point

Someone wrote that the strategies we talk about on this show aren't fair.

Aren't fair.

That they're just one more way the rich get richer.

This is the wealthy ripping off everybody else.

Okay, so that wasn't really a question.

It's more of a verdict.

And if I'm honest, it's the oldest trap in the personal finance book.

If I didn't know it existed, it must be a scam reserved for people who've already won.

That's sort of the, in essence, what the comment was saying.

So I'm going to say this plainly because I don't want to bury the lead here and it helps nobody to bury the lead.

This won't come as a surprise, but the tax code is public information.

The strategies in the tax code are public information.

The tools that are offered to the uber wealthy are publicly available.

The real difference is not a secret vault on Wall Street.

The real difference is behavior.

How people behave with their money is far more important than how much money they start out with.

So I'm going to say that again because it's the whole episode.

How people behave is much more important than how much money they have.

That's a writer downer if you're taking notes.

So this is not a lecture about grit, I promise.

This is not some sort of pull yourself up by your bootstraps kind of episode.

This is about a mindset that keeps good people parked outside the building that they already have a key to.

Look at the week we just lived through.

In late August and early September, as I was recording this, the 30-year treasury hit a 5.33 yield.

That's a 19-year high.