Lloyd Lofthouse

Is the Average RICH person an Idiot?

I read a piece by Mandi Woodruff at Business Insider about 21 Ways Rich People Think Differently.

The first paragraph said, “World’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the ‘jealous’ middle class to task for ‘drinking, or smoking and socializing’ rather than working to earn their own fortune.”

I’m in the middle class. I don’t drink or smoke and I socialize only a little compared to the number of hours I work at what I enjoy, and I’m not jealous of the rich. I do not envy them either. What does that say about me?

Number ONE of the twenty-one ways rich people think differently says, “Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.”

I’m not RICH, and I don’t think money is the root of all evil and I also do not believe POVERTY is the root of all evil. Instead, I believe GREED is one of the causes of evil and POVERTY leads to suffering and some of those people living in poverty work long hours at jobs that pay little because some RICH person doesn’t offer a livable wage.

For example: the Walton family that continues to earn its wealth from the Wal-Mart stores. The NY Times says, “With most of Wal-Mart’s workers earning less than $19,000 a year, a number of community groups and lawmakers have recently teamed up with labor unions in mounting an intensive campaign aimed at prodding Wal-Mart into paying its 1.3 million employees higher wages.”

That NY Times report was in 2005, and little has changed at Wal-Mart. In fact, it may be worse. The CEO, Michael Duke, earned $35 million in 2010 while a new Walmart employee was paid $8.75 an hour for an annual salary of $13,650. Source: Jonathan Turley

In addition, the Walton family’s now holds as much wealth as the bottom 40 percent of Americans combined—about $90 billion.

Does that mean all RICH people are like the Waltons?  I don’t think so.  After all, two of the richest people in the world are planning to give all or most of their wealth away to worthy causes. I’m talking about Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet with a combined net worth of $105 billion.

Woodruff also mentions a book, How Rich People Think, written by Steve Siebold. Siebold makes some wild claims such as, “The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest.” Usually, I leave a link when I mention a book, but I do not think this book deserves a link.

However, it’s common sense—something Siebold and Rinehart seem to be missing—that everyone cannot be RICH.

Before I finished reading the Business Insider piece, I had the impression that Siebold believes everyone could be rich and famous if they had not been brainwashed into thinking the way us AVERAGE middle class folks think.

Here’s my reply to Siebold:  Everyone cannot be a winner.  Imagine a horse race where every horse wins and no one loses. There is always a horse that comes in last.

Imagine all the football, baseball, basketball and soccer games ending in ties because everyone is an incredible, perfect athlete.

Imagine every person on the Earth each worth millions or billions. Who would be left to mow the lawns, cook, wait tables, etc.?

Imagine seven billion people with the talent of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, or Whitney Houston.

Some of what Siebold says about how the rich think makes sense but I’m sure there are many AVERAGE people in the MIDDLE CLASS that do not behave as Gina Rinehart claims and for sure, have not been brainwashed as Siebold says.

Here’s a thought: I suspect that the RICH people that caused the 2007-08 global financial crises are an excellent example of the AVERAGE rich person, and if you want to know what EVIL is, we do not need the opinions of RICH people such as Gina Rinehart with a net worth of $18.9 billion or  Steve Siebold, who charges $7,501 to $15,000 to speak to you about his opinions. We may turn to the BIBLE to find out that answer:

“For the love of money is the root of all evil …” Source: King James Bible: 1 Timothy 6:10, or there are passages in the Bible that also says it has to do with being judgmental, to think what is good and evil such as Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Discover The Face in the Glass

_______________________

Lloyd Lofthouse, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Veteran, is the award winning author of The Concubine Saga.

His latest novel is Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.

And the woman he loves and wants to save was trained to hate and kill Americans.

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Lloyd Lofthouse

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5 responses to “Is the Average RICH person an Idiot?”

  1. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    Hello Lloyd,

    I’m pleased to be acquainted with you. I read the above post, and I felt sad because I could understand where you were coming from.

    The sadness stems from the perspective that religion and the bible has impressed upon people’s lives.

    I come from a middle class family, in a third world country, and strangely enough, I cannot comprehend at what point I arrived at ‘first-world countries’ ideas.

    Let me explain directly to what I am referring to, with respect to the above post.

    Now, having to describe who I am, thus you’d know I’m not writing in contrary to your writing, because I am “one of them” would take much time; however if you do want to curiously debate on this subject, I would be willing to.

    You made mention of the wages of the Walton workers. However, you discarded the fact that these people should be grateful to have a job; if they feel they aren’t okay with the wages, they have a ‘choice’; thus they could go about acquiring the kind of income they desire.

    You should note that individuals from other parts of the world, have come to the United States, amd acquired their own form of abundance there. Or otherwise, acquired the knowledge to create a remarkable life.

    Please do research ‘Masayoshi Son’, and read up one of his interviews ie. on how he thought, before he became wealthy.

    When Gina Rinehart said what she said, she wasnt referring to all of the middle class. She was referring that are actually taking part in those activities, yet do want more out of life.

    When Steven Siebold wrote his book, most of the ideas to which I agree with, he wasnt saying ‘all’ middle-class people think like that, he wrote that so he could reach as wide a target audience as possible.

    Basically, the acquisition of wealth is through “providing value”.

    The people you mentioned do not have a set definition of what ‘rich and famous’ should be; if you’re very comfortable with the standard of living, by all means, understand that you are in your own right, ‘rich’.

    All said, we need to raise the bar on religion. The object of religion is not to give us a righteous life; but to provide us an abundant life – in every area. Have you noticed how kida are able to dream of the life they want, without thinking of any limitations? I think that’s what God wants for us.

    You, in the US, you have no idea how you’re so fortunate to have your basic necessities met. I have been to some environments, where even if the individuals thought of bettering their lives, they have absolutely no resources to do so. I think religion should be, while spreading the Word, there should be welfare for the impoverished.

    Lastly, ideas, which is the basic source of wealth, though abundant in existence, could be worth a million dollars etc, or a billion, when utilized strategically.

    For example, because of the difference in currency rates, meagre income in the US, would stretch much further in other parts of the world. I know of an American, who moved to the Philippines permanently, to reduce his expenses, who is earning a fortune there, ie. by operating a call center. It’s possible that when one thinks globally, toward providing value, one might discover a goldmine in ordinary activities.

    All the best, Tony

    Reply
    1. Lloyd Lofthouse Avatar
      Lloyd Lofthouse

      There are factors you are not taking into account. For instance, the fact that the cost of living is different between countries and in large countries from region to region.

      Another factor is the ratio of urban vs rural populations. At one time the U.S. had a much larger poverty rate but most of the people lived on their own small farms and eked out a living by hunting and growing their own food. Developed countries are the opposite. They have small rural populations and large urban population where the people depend on jobs that pay them a livable wage so they can afford to pay for shelter and food.

      The cheapest US city to rent an apartment is Wichita Kansas were the median rent for a one bedroom apartment is $623 per month. The most expensive US city is San Francisco where the median price for a studio apartment is $2,295. For a one-bedroom it is $2,898.

      The Cost of Living Index for Countries is worth visiting to see what it takes to survive.

      http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp

      The idea that all anyone in the world has to do is work hard to be a success and earn a fortune is absurd. There are too many factors that create roadblocks to wealth and success the same as everyone doesn’t win the lottery every week. Health is one factor. Being born in poverty is another. Working for an employer who offers poverty wages and no benefits is another. What happens when a worker deep in debt because he is paid poverty wages gets sick and has no medical care?

      Income in the U.S. does stretch further in many countries but if you are working in the U.S. you are not living in a country where the cost of living is a lot less. YOu are working in the U.S. where the cost of living depend son where you live for instance, San Francisco, California vs Wichita Kansas.

      Imagine taking a worker from India who is barely earning enough to survive and dumping him and his family in the U.S. on the same earnings and expect him to make it.

      Reply
      1. Tony Avatar
        Tony

        Hello Lloyd,

        Thanks for the response.

        I do understand what you are saying. Sometime back, I had to assist a relatively wealthy client residing in the US, who wanted to do away with having to pay taxes, to relocate to another location, with lower costs of living. To make the transition seamless, I had to have these data given in your response, within my fingertips.

        Respectfully, I did notice one thing missing from your response: You gave all the statistics, with respect to health, cost of living, and others. These are all external factors.

        Wealth is a “state of mind”; meaning it’s an ‘internal’ thing.

        Having conducted extensive research into the state of mind of different entities, attempting to decide which to adopt; I came upon the following:

        1. Those with the mindset of getting a stable job, and being set up for life. These works for some people, but does not work for everyone.

        2. Those who are looking for the most assured means to ensure they possess a ‘retirement package’, for when they retire. These ones removes the joy of living, and the curiosity that prevails each day, ie. what would each day bring etc.

        3. Lastly, those who are focused on providing value. These are the ‘platform’ of which those in ‘1’ (ie. the Walmart workers) earn their stable income. If these (‘3’) had not take the risk to begin a business, ‘1’, presently, would have nowhere to work (and correspondingly), earn an income.

        Personally, I’ve realized that those who want to make a difference in their lives, have to start from the point of ‘creating a vision’. It’s not where they are now, it’s where they’d want to be, in the years to come, that really matters.

        Trade and commerce occurs everyday. Money changes hands everyday. These is not influenced by the global statistics.

        Right now, and a hundred years from now, value would continue to be created, and money would continue to change hands.

        Something I learnt in the Bible about beliefs. “It’s the “beliefs” of the parents etc. that get passed down to the children, even to their fourth generation”

        The beliefs I understand, are the parents’ outlook to life, which gets passed down to their children. That’s why “the rich stay rich, and the poor stay that way”.

        It’s worth considering.

        If one has a comfortable living, by all means, one is rich. If one is dissatisfied with what he/she has; it doesn’t matter where the person’s coming from. One should create a vision, and faithfully, with belief, discipline required, work towards it.

        All the best, Tony

      2. Lloyd Lofthouse Avatar
        Lloyd Lofthouse

        If one is satisfied, and comfortable, with their lifestyle, it doesn’t matter how much they earn. It’s all a state of mind. In fact, it would be possible to be satisfied and comfortable living in a cave with no money and doing just enough to eat. Everything is relative.

      3. Tony Avatar
        Tony

        Hi Lloyd,

        Absolutely!

        However, recently, I read Jordan Belfort’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Apart from grasping the possibilities of affluence that exist, starting from an ‘average’ standard, no other place in the material influenced me, like when he described how opportuned he was to be well-to-do, thus enabling him to afford to hire the best doctors to ensure the safe delivery of his son.

        That section placed in me, a resolve, to improve the quality of my offering to the environment, and the market as a whole.

        Splendid regards, Tony

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