One of the greatest dilemmas the U.S. and countries across the globe face is the staggering wealth and income gap.
As the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer.
For comparison, the top 20% of Americans own 86% of the countryâs wealth and the bottom 80% of the population owned 14% while the top 1% of the population own 43%, the next 19% of Americans own 50%, and the bottom 80% own 7%.
The main reason wealth inequality is growing is because a majority of citizens solely rely on one income source and an employer to keep them afloat while the top percent work for themselves, are a part of the shareholder class and hedge inflation with all their investments, specifically in real estate and in the stock market.
There are endless opportunities out in the world and it seems like thereâs no real reason why wealth inequality would get worse. Yet, with 6% of Americans without a bank account, 3.7 billion people with no internet access and only 65% of the world employed, the internet isnât making itself any easier for countries struggling to put food on the table.
With no access to the internet, investments into passive income streams, content creation, email marketing, social media, connecting with others and education virtually doesnât exist and certainly isnât the same! No wonder inequality is getting worse. People who have access to it are only rising to the top with this massive advantage.
Drill Down
So is it everyoneâs fault that wealth inequality continues to worsen?
Collectively, specifically the top 50% have the biggest responsibility to help others. To reduce the wealth gap is a far easier problem than income inequality because it simply starts with getting people online and invested to grow their wealth without dedicating manual labor to their time.
Realistically to make more, you need to work harder and longer than the average person. This has nothing to do with luck or talent, rather your persistence, dedication and perseverance. With 10 years of unwavering commitment, you can achieve almost all of your dreams yet with no set time line and too comfortable of a lifestyle, people donât have dreams.
That shouldnât be anyone elseâs problem and especially in America where everyone fends for themselves, taxes seem to be the only push to help one another and improve the country as a whole from infrastructure to the military. Yet when thereâs a tax hike, people are less inclined to work which leads people to believe that we all have to work hard from where we started, no matter how dire the circumstances are.
Blaming
Throughout history, everyone has always hated the rich because well, they have an easier life and a seemingly more free existence. As much as that is false, 88% of millionaires did NOT inherit their wealth and rather built it up through their hard work, sweat and tears and should be rewarded.
People are luckier than others and some are born into wealth and others arenât. The world isnât fair and violence is never the answer. The more you start with, no doubt the easier it is to propel your future or not. Just look at broke princesses and bankrupt celebrities. Itâs not how much you earn, itâs how much you keep.
Fixing the income and wealth gap wonât be fixed by blaming other people and asking the rich to give up all their hard work for others so they can spend it frivolously.
It starts with education.
Those fortunate enough to give up most of their wealth to noble causes have incentives to donate through philanthropic efforts as they get to minimize their taxes and boost their media profile. The more you donate, the more youâre seen as human and likable even if youâre the nastiest billionaire on earth.
Thatâs why money is skewed and not a means to an end.
Solution
Although education seems to be the staple in most households, not all. Some families push their kids to start working as soon as they turn 13 and waste their life making a few bucks per day and end up spending it all. It all comes down to financial literacy yet those who are struggling, are too lazy to do so. Making money wonât propel your future. The investment in yourself will. McDonalds can only raise your rate so much.
In addition, to lessen the wealth gap, if you want more time and money, have less children. It bothers me when I see the poorest families with 8 kids! Come on, 2 kids arenât enough?
They arenât running out and how about you help a child in need in China instead? There are plenty of children across the globe that are living in shelters looking for families. Itâs a beautiful thing to have your own child but also extremely costly and a big mistake.
Due to inflation, everything is inflating. From tuition to childcare costs, healthcare, toys, vacations, etc. I canât imagine how much education will cost in 2060!
You can read here why it costs roughly $300k to raise a child till 18 years old in America.
We also need to stop paying attention to what others have. Get off the TV, sell what you have at home, eat healthier to rewire your brain and boost productivity. You can learn all of this for free and if youâre really dedicated, you must put in the work.
If everyone could, they would be at home chilling all day on the couch but thatâs not going to get you anywhere. If you need help, take advantage of stimulus, lower your cost of living, have less kids, eat healthier to feel fuller, stop smoking and wasting money on diet pills and alcohol or eating out and focus on investing in yourself.
When you have nothing, you can take more risk.
You have nothing to loose.
Feeling bad for yourself wonât get you anywhere. Everyone is dealing with something and 99% of the world was not given everything on a silver platter they could nibble off of forever.
Toss Up
People spend so much time focusing on how they can increase their income neglecting what really matters which is their net worth.
You can understand your net worth and the recommended amount per age and education level here.
Every time you increase your income, you are having to pay more in taxes and becoming a slave to your time. Instead of being able to control how much you are worth, your employer is.
Now donât get me wrong. Some people, including myself love consistency, being told what to do and helping others out in a team. I love waking up at a designated time each day and working on a project boosting revenue for a large corporation but I also enjoy working on my own time for myself.
Test out both but whatâs for sure is that if you want to help lower the wealth inequality gap, donât work for yourself which most of the rich DONâT do. They hire as many lawyers, accountants and dealers as they can to fiddle them out of paying taxes and helping the government.
Although taxes do traditionally help infrastructure, medicare/medicaid, social security and the the military, it also trickles down into the economy because when people at the bottom are supported, they are able to spend more in the market which then pumps more money into equities to reach greater returns.
Easy Peasy
The wealth gap is an easy problem compared to income inequality. If you want to earn more, go do so. Get into the most lucrative fields to work as hard as you can and you will see your pay increase over time but your health and happiness most likely will decline as taxes to higher costs of living bites into it all.
The best way for the world to solve the wealth gap is to onboard the entire world to the investor class. You donât have to start a business if you donât want to. All you have to do is grow your money and let it work for you.
What better incentive than that?
Thereâs no work required!
Just invest in companies you believe will be profitable in the future by guesstimating what products/services others use and how the next few months will pan out.
No one is smarter than you on Wall Street. Itâs just a guessing game with some numbers. No matter your age, background, religion, education level, you need to invest. Once you solidify that, you can then start owning some sort of business, doesnât have to be an Amazon, can be a newsletter to a coffee shop where you can deduct your expenses as a tax write-off and earn more cash flow that way.
I truly believe without a doubt if we were to fast forward 10 years from now, having a brokerage account and being a part of the investor class will be as ubiquitous as having a bank account today. Times are changing and to not invest your money is a mistake.
Itâs the new cool to be educated on investing.
Last Nugget of Advice
You have to stop thinking that everyone else knows more than you. If you want to save the wealth inequality gap, you need to banish the feeling that Wall Street can do more powerful things. That Ivy League degree isnât the golden ticket as it used to be when no one went to college. If you can build a brand for yourself online, you are already one step ahead of the curve. Now let that brand flourish by meeting with the right people, putting yourself out there and taking whatever you have, even $2 and investing in fractional shares.
You donât need to be a geek, graduate, math nerd or fancy to get started.
In fact, you need to be as creative as possible. The more creative you are, the better investor youâll be. Even when you find something new about your spending habits or what your friends are buying, that could be the next greatest opportunity in the market.
If you see a pop star wear a cool dress online and thereâs a lot of hype around it, buy into that company that produces the dress because I guarantee you the traders and bulge-bracket bankers are not paying attention. Or go to your nearest deli and try to figure out what the most popular item is flying off the shelves with constant low inventory. Maybe short that company and Wall Street will follow eventually too late.
Donât compete against the hedggies (hedge funds) and Wall Street guys who are obsessed with the financial reports, models, CNBC and 24/7 news cycle. Let them keep their advantage of valuing comps and forecasting earnings while you look out in the wiser direction. Do what you do best which for my generation is understanding what our fellow social media influencers and users are promoting, using, what hashtags they are using with products that will be booming.
Just learn and look. No one is out to save you except for yourself. Itâs a dangerous world out there but you brain is all you got to keep yourself afloat. Start small and scale. Be consistent and know that with taxes, a new president and the emergence and accessibility of the stock market, you are always welcome. Income discriminates but not the market.