Spoiler alert: Your mindset is to blame.
Let me start by saying in no regard do I think capitalism is a perfect system. I write this with that fact in mind but from the perspective that no system is perfect, everything comes with opportunity costs, but the very real understanding your best shot at wealth lies within the playing of the capitalist game.
I am baffled every time I get on social media and see “eat the rich” slander. It is comical to me because it is always coming from someone middle-classed or rich, and it is always coming from someone that I know would take luxury the moment it was offered to them.
Everyone wants nice things and experiences. Everyone wants generational wealth. Everyone isn’t willing to bust ass to get them.
On one hand, I understand the disconnect. The middle class has tasted luxury in small doses but cannot fully obtain or sustain it. Furthermore, the middle class is uneducated when it comes to money and wealth. This is why we must educate ourselves.
For one the middle class only exists in this societal structure. How do you hate capitalism when it’s the only reason your whole socio-economic class exists? Secondly, anyone who is apart of the middle class here in the USA is in the top 5% of wealth for the enter world. You literally have more money and opportunity than anyone else anywhere else in the world, yet here you are on social media complaining *inset hard eye roll*.
If you are an employee it makes even less sense because you have placed yourself dependent on capitalism working in order to get your paycheck. You are directly benefiting from capitalism whether you see it or not.
To be quite frank the disconnect is the gap between where you are and where you feel you deserve to be. It's entitlement. I don’t hear poor people complaining on the internet about how they are poor because of some rich person they have never met. If it’s happening it's surely not happening loudly. The loud are the entitled middle class who don’t recognize there is work you don’t see or understand that happens between where you are and where you want to be.
The reason you are still broke is your scarcity mindset.
The idea that there are limited resources, the crab in the bucket mentality. The truth is money is infinite today, so there is more than enough to go around. The disparity lies in education. The middle class is miseducated when it comes to money, finance, and wealth therefore locking them out from obtaining it. The middle class is also raised on a fear-based mindset which is a strategic move from the powers that be. When you are constantly scared you are paralyzed and unable to build. Money isn’t the issue. The issue is spending. The issue is what are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to give up your fears and preconceived notions? Are you willing to learn? Is your fear of being poor stronger than your faith in abundance? (Shout to Marie Forleo podcast for that last gem)
The issue isn’t earning money. It's spending habits. It’s the lack of knowledge on how to invest. Yes, I believe people need to be paid living wages but the gripe of the middle class is not one of the living wages. People in the middle class make living wages they just spend their money like drunken sailors. Living above our means to impress our family and friends. Spending on things we want before investing in ourselves. Spending on things we can’t yet afford in the name of “treat yo self”. Convincing ourselves we “need” more than we really do. The gripe of the middle class is one of wanting luxury and not wanting to do the work to obtain it. Pocket watching others stems from a toxic mixture of envy, entitlement, and an uncontrolled need for instant gratification. The money problems of the middle class come from not know how to manage money OR MINDSET and having too much pride to admit that.
If I hear another person say eat the rich knowing damn well they would love to be wealthy and just can’t figure it out I’m going to scream.
The issue is the mindset. The belief that you are owed something by someone and that life is supposed to be fair. The misconception that someone should give you what you want knowing damn well you aren’t willing to work for it. The idea that you must take the fruits of another person’s tree because you can’t (or more honestly won’t) grow your own tree. It’s a toxic mindset that will keep you and your family trapped in the working class forever.
My first motivation to write this piece is to vent. No, I am not rich, and yes I was raised middle class but I've learned no blessing come from being envious of others. I know generational wealth is more obtainable than ever so it breaks my heart to see so many people trapped in such a toxic mindset. I know that fear and hate in the heart is a bad thing no matter who it's directed at. I know envy of this type can easily be turned against me or anyone given the right circumstances. My secondary motivation here is to hopefully spark a change of mindset in you the reader. You can have Jeff Bezos money too if you are willing to figure it out & follow through.
Sincerely,
Simone
Resources for a mindset shift & financial education:
Hi grreat reading your blog