14 Responses to “Isn’t Wealth a Direct Correlation to Success?”

1. rjjrdq
   October 28th, 2008 @ 11:56 pm

   Stop, you’re just making too much sense…

2. The Editor
   October 29th, 2008 @ 11:02 pm

   While I agree that Obama’s policies punish success, I would be careful recommending college as a panacea. The data can be misleading.

   College is the best course only when a specific goal is in mind, with no other way of attaining it. I speak as someone who very well may have been better off not attending college, and I don’t even have loans!

   The data set does not separate out for things such as class, intelligence, criminal record or any number of things that affect success.

   While it is true that anyone can get college loans, they are the herpes of debt, surviving even most bankruptcy.

   While it may allow you to get a relatively high paying job, look at the larger picture. Let’s say you get twice the average salary of a college grad right out of school. Making 84K only goes so far when you have 100k of student loans(and many people I know have more, just for undergrad) a 250k mortgage, and a 20k car loan.

   Compare this to someone who intelligently chose a field that does not require a degree, worked his way up, while saving and investing aggressively, until he had the experience and capital to go into business for themselves, even if it’s subcontracting or consulting. They have no debt, a 4-6 year head start, and commercial equity. Who is better off?

   My long winded point is this: while college can be a useful tool, too many people see this as their plan:

   1. College
   2. ???
   3. Profit

3. jo
   October 30th, 2008 @ 1:58 am

   you’re too good as a capitalist… with your mindset, perhaps you will be wealthy in terms of money matters….

   but i believe that wealth has no direct correlation with success…

   or should i say, it depends on what your definition of success is…

4. dereil arleth
   October 30th, 2008 @ 5:07 am

   “College loans are accessible to almost anyone who wants them.”

   yeah right

5. Joseph
   October 31st, 2008 @ 7:42 am

   Could it be the other way around, success is a direct correlation to wealth, unless your someone like an heiress ala Paris Hilton in that case wealth is a direct correlation to success. But I must agree with you on the tax issue. I am right in that low 6 figure number that you referred to and under the Bush tax cuts I got an extra $83 bucks, I am divorced with no kids, so no matter who gets in I will get no tax break from the left or the right.

   Regards,

   Joseph

6. admin
   October 31st, 2008 @ 9:11 pm

   Great post Joseph, thanks for the information! I am currently single with no children so I guess we are both out of luck, huh?

7. sullygulliver
   October 31st, 2008 @ 11:23 pm

   by this logic, debt = success. College degrees on loan are pretty fuc*in expensive, never mind your mean $50k+ salary. Plus, you make more, you spend more…and thus, you SHOULD pay more taxes. Take Warren Buffet. He’s always talking about how his tax rate is much lower than his secretary’s. By the way, we don’t live in a capitalist, nor democratic, society. That’s only true partially. A balance should exist; when a system becomes unbalanced, a shift occurs (greed + greed + greed + greed + deception + greed = imbalance >>> shift = change in leadership = moralistic re-evaluation), and the pendulum swings back to the left. It’s all about the correction.

8. Julie@Cool Mom Guide
   November 1st, 2008 @ 12:57 pm

   No, the random due who bought the powerball ticket and is now sitting on millions of dollars is officially wealthy. The only thing that indicidual succeeded in was purchasing said ticket.

9. admin
   November 1st, 2008 @ 1:16 pm

   statistically speaking winning the lottery happens to about 1 in 20 million people, so I would think that is not a strong correlation.

10. LAL
    November 7th, 2008 @ 11:03 am

    You aren’t looking at the bigger picture. I am married, make six figures and will likely be paying more under Obama. So what?

    Stop the whining. My DH is a capitalist like you but he understand that paying more taxes helps society in general.

    You want an educated public? It starts with public schools. They need more money to educate people k-12.

    Want to stop bankruptcies? We need a socialized system to prevent uninsured from causing the skyrocketing costs. PREVENTION! Help people go to the doctor regularly so they don’t go to the ER and then run up huge bills because they waited so long.

    I like capitalism. BUT NO COUNTRY has ever proven Capitalism can work with healthcare. Why? Because right to life is a exactly that, a RIGHT! Not a responsibility. A man is shot are you going to say, gee you don’t have enough cash savings to pay for the surgery and insurance, we’re not going to save your life. NO. That’s why capitalism will NEVER work with healthcare, unless you want to determine what people’s lives are worth.

    And for taxes, how do you think roads are paved, police/firemen, etc are paid? How do you think roads are shoveled?

    People whine about taxes until they need the help. Then they want the free handout.

    I have no issues with paying taxes. The rising tide lifts all boats.

    Funny, my DH and I made it when we made $40k/year gross in San Diego as 2 graduate students. We bought a 1 bed condo and were responsible. We make 3x that and so what? We’re still responsible.

    And under Bush I did not see a single benefit. I might as well pay more taxes and see others get out of the poverty. I was born to a single mom, so I was the poor.

    There is a lot more than your argument above. I don’t believe in capitalism for healthcare. I don’t believe the trickle down mentality works.

    Sure it’s not great to pay more taxes, but wrap your head around this. I’d rather be making $500k/year and paying 40% in taxes than $50k/year and no taxes. You’re still taking home more after taxes than normal people.

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13. Rakel
    November 23rd, 2008 @ 8:24 pm

    LAL, you say that no country has ever proven that capital works, but under that same token, where is the beaming example of success from a socialist government? The truth is, socialism and social programs don’t work. Nature has a way of balancing things out. Take hurricanes for example. Theoretically, we have the power to weaken the storms to cause less or no destruction, however, if we DID that it would cause an unbalance and possibly a larger, more devastating storm. This is a little off topic, but a good example: the same thing goes for our financial markets. If we just allowed the recession to come, it would be bad for a time, but then the excess would be removed and we can start again with a sound currency and market. However, if we keep trying to “weaken the storm” we’re only going to cause a more devastating depression.

    Yes, taxes help the government function, but aren’t there better ways to manage some of the issues you’ve raised up? Should the government really be in control of things like health care and education? The government is NOT efficient, and will never be so, however, a private own business who is accountable for profit and loss, will be. Yes, education is incredibly important, but I strongly oppose the government and our tax dollars to pay for it.

    Likewise with health care. There was a time in this country where there were charity hospitals that would never turn away a person. Insurance was not necessary for basic health needs (only major complications, surgeries, etc). It was more affordable. Medication was more affordable. But now the government has induced lots of regulations on health care and pharmaceuticals (while also inflating the money) which cause the prices to skyrocket, making the average Joe unable to afford $300 OR MORE a month health insurance.

    In a socialized health care system, people who require vital surgeries will be placed on large waiting lists… perhaps dying before they can receive the care they need. This is why individuals that can afford it from countries with socialized health care come to America for some of their needs. You also get physicians who have less drive to excel in their work, because they become just a government employee, who also take a big pay cut or just don’t have the opportunity to make more money. Personally, I think being a doctor is a tough and stressful job and that they SHOULD make more money than I do. I don’t believe that everyone should be given a job and the government just had everybody the same amount of money. That just zaps the life out of any passion you may have. Why bother?

    Socialism benefits one class of people: the upper class, because they take your money and give you just a little bit back while giving you “services” … that are poor quality, not managed properly and wasteful. I have far more faith in the private citizens to succeed, help the poor and just mankind in general. Much more than the government anyway. It’s not perfect, but perfection is not an option so we need the next best thing.

    I have NO faith in the government.

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