this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2023
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted, clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts: 1
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Isn't this the plot to elysium?
In all seriousness, its not impossible to go from the bottom to the top, but its definitely improbable. Anyone can do middle class. Just do middle class.
If you really want to go wild, sacrifice your pleasantries in order to save a bit and give it to your child a chance. Ill give you an example.
Jeff Bezos mother Jackie and father Tim when were 16 and 18 respectively when she was pregnant with Jeff. Jeffs first dad was a drunk asshole and they got divored. She met a Cuban Refugee named Miguel Bezos, who adopted Jeff. Jeff went and got himself into Princeton, where he graduated and started working for a financial tech company.
Now Miguel got his degree and was working for exxon. Thats how he was able to save up the $254k that he and Jackie loaned to Jeff. With that, he made an online bookstore called amazon.com. From there Jeff became the multi billionaire he is now. Oh, Jackie and Miguel got 6% each so they're billionaires too.
Now that's the American Dream. Even so, I think the question is, how rich is too rich?
I had a teacher who won the lotto. I don't take investment advice from her.
The odds of winning the lotto are better than being a billionaire off a business plan.
But imagine a world where if you capped over say, 1 billion, your excess would be funnelled into your employees.
You're right, with careful planning and hard work it's possible to better your situation or those of your children. (Though it doesn't always work) Even in our current system, statistically, some people will become billionaires. Do we think those billionaires lives are significantly better than if they were millionaires? If anything, judging by their behavior becoming ultra rich seems psychologically damaging.
On the other hand, we have millions of people who struggle to have enough food, to have a place to live, to get healthcare, to gain an education. Without a healthy environmental we face disaster that will cost many lives. I'd like to build a system where everyone has those modern rights. We need a systemic solution, personal effort is important but not sufficient.