It’s sad to see so many who had a hell of a head start congratulate themselves on widening the margin between themselves and those who really are trying to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Actually, none of this is true. Especially the “be rich already” dogma. 80% of the people on the Fortune 500 Richest Americans list weren’t on it 20 years ago. This comic appeals only to narrow minded people who can’t think for themselves.
Hi David! Sorry for the late reply. I’m not really sure where to begin with your comment. First, the Fortune 500’s list you referred to actually deals with the most profitable companies (which is covered with #3 in this comic) not the richest Americans. I believe you’re thinking of Forbes Richest Americans list and you’re right most of the people on that list weren’t on it twenty years ago… but most of the people on the list that weren’t on it twenty years ago are also in charge of internet startups which were just coming into fruition twenty years ago. Now not to knock startups but 92% of startups fail within the first three years (percentages are fun). So, while startups are an incredible amount of work, I’m afraid the majority of them that succeed do so by appearing at the right place at the right time (ie: luck which is covered by #2 in this comic). Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed the comic:)
The Forbes list is irrelevant to this discussion, since it really only deals with the tiniest fraction of a percent of ‘rich’ people. The issue is, how do you define ‘rich’? Nearly 80% of the millionaires in this country have become so by exactly the cell in your comic that you shrug off… They’ve done it with hard work, staying out of debt, saving money for a long time, investing carefully in long-term investments… Dave Ramsey has a segment he does occasionally on his #3 rated radio show where he interviews “millionaires” (e.g., people who have a net-worth of more than $1M). Nearly all of them have made modest salaries as teachers, cops, blue-collar workers, etc. (I think the average salaries are somewhere in the $60K-$80K range), but have spent less than they made, saved continuously, and slowly built up their fortunes over 40-50 years of work and saving.
But you can pooh-pooh their experience because it is hard and time consuming. Just sayin’, the majority of people worth more than $1M got that way through the very method you declare as a joke…
Actually, The Forbes list was brought up by the previous commenter, so it is relevant to my previous comment. As for your point, I think it’s a valid one, it’s true that many people do save and slowly build a fortune… it’s also true that if you asked them if they feel rich, nearly 50% of them would say no. But your point is valid, I don’t think it makes for a very funny joke or punctuates the very real feeling in America, which is that the deck is stacked against the little guy.
Since we’re on the subject, this comic is pointed at the upper class. The people who don’t have to worry about money or watch their spending (which would not be the very method I declared as a joke). The CEO who, on average, earns around 204 times what his or her median worker earns. The senator who earns 6 figures a year and works 133 days a year compared to the average American’s 240 days a year at the office. The actor or sports star who makes millions of dollars to play a part or a game. This comic is not saying it’s not possible to get rich, it’s saying it’s very hard and these are the fast ways to get there (which is how America likes to get stuff done, look at our love of diet fads as an example).
And here I thought most people would be on my case for including porn as a viable way to get rich. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the comic:)
I agree with almost everything. However this most recent reply adds sports stars as “rich” and while many of them do earn lots of money, 78% of NFL players, and 60% of NBA players are broke 5 years after they finish playing. It also states that the people you’re pointing this comic at don’t have to worry about money or watch their spending, and I can guarantee you they watch their spending meticulously. Also, you’re correct, porn doesn’t make you rich.
Lol! According to Forbes back in 2013 (which one can only imagine hasn’t changed much and if anything has gone up instead of down), on average, NBA players make $5.15 million, MLB players make $3.2 million, NHL players make $2.4 million, and NFL players make $1.9 million per year. That’s a lot of money to be paid to play a game. This comic is about how to get rich, not necessarily how to stay rich. One could easily argue that most of the people who fall into the #2 way listed in this comic (Dumb luck, which is where I’d categorize actors and sports stars) don’t tend to stay rich for very long. In fact 70% of all lottery winners end up bankrupt within five years of winning. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the comic:D
Just wanted to say that I enjoyed the comic but more than that, enjoyed reading the discussions in the comment section. It’s easy these days for disagreements on the internet to turn ugly so it was nice to see calm, rational arguments from you and your readers 🙂 Cheers!
so true!!
How do I get rich already??
I don’t know?… I myself am going to give the crooked politician job a try. I’m going to start applying today;)
It’s sad to see so many who had a hell of a head start congratulate themselves on widening the margin between themselves and those who really are trying to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Actually, none of this is true. Especially the “be rich already” dogma. 80% of the people on the Fortune 500 Richest Americans list weren’t on it 20 years ago. This comic appeals only to narrow minded people who can’t think for themselves.
Hi David! Sorry for the late reply. I’m not really sure where to begin with your comment. First, the Fortune 500’s list you referred to actually deals with the most profitable companies (which is covered with #3 in this comic) not the richest Americans. I believe you’re thinking of Forbes Richest Americans list and you’re right most of the people on that list weren’t on it twenty years ago… but most of the people on the list that weren’t on it twenty years ago are also in charge of internet startups which were just coming into fruition twenty years ago. Now not to knock startups but 92% of startups fail within the first three years (percentages are fun). So, while startups are an incredible amount of work, I’m afraid the majority of them that succeed do so by appearing at the right place at the right time (ie: luck which is covered by #2 in this comic). Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed the comic:)
The Forbes list is irrelevant to this discussion, since it really only deals with the tiniest fraction of a percent of ‘rich’ people. The issue is, how do you define ‘rich’? Nearly 80% of the millionaires in this country have become so by exactly the cell in your comic that you shrug off… They’ve done it with hard work, staying out of debt, saving money for a long time, investing carefully in long-term investments… Dave Ramsey has a segment he does occasionally on his #3 rated radio show where he interviews “millionaires” (e.g., people who have a net-worth of more than $1M). Nearly all of them have made modest salaries as teachers, cops, blue-collar workers, etc. (I think the average salaries are somewhere in the $60K-$80K range), but have spent less than they made, saved continuously, and slowly built up their fortunes over 40-50 years of work and saving.
But you can pooh-pooh their experience because it is hard and time consuming. Just sayin’, the majority of people worth more than $1M got that way through the very method you declare as a joke…
Actually, The Forbes list was brought up by the previous commenter, so it is relevant to my previous comment. As for your point, I think it’s a valid one, it’s true that many people do save and slowly build a fortune… it’s also true that if you asked them if they feel rich, nearly 50% of them would say no. But your point is valid, I don’t think it makes for a very funny joke or punctuates the very real feeling in America, which is that the deck is stacked against the little guy.
Since we’re on the subject, this comic is pointed at the upper class. The people who don’t have to worry about money or watch their spending (which would not be the very method I declared as a joke). The CEO who, on average, earns around 204 times what his or her median worker earns. The senator who earns 6 figures a year and works 133 days a year compared to the average American’s 240 days a year at the office. The actor or sports star who makes millions of dollars to play a part or a game. This comic is not saying it’s not possible to get rich, it’s saying it’s very hard and these are the fast ways to get there (which is how America likes to get stuff done, look at our love of diet fads as an example).
And here I thought most people would be on my case for including porn as a viable way to get rich. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the comic:)
I agree with almost everything. However this most recent reply adds sports stars as “rich” and while many of them do earn lots of money, 78% of NFL players, and 60% of NBA players are broke 5 years after they finish playing. It also states that the people you’re pointing this comic at don’t have to worry about money or watch their spending, and I can guarantee you they watch their spending meticulously. Also, you’re correct, porn doesn’t make you rich.
Lol! According to Forbes back in 2013 (which one can only imagine hasn’t changed much and if anything has gone up instead of down), on average, NBA players make $5.15 million, MLB players make $3.2 million, NHL players make $2.4 million, and NFL players make $1.9 million per year. That’s a lot of money to be paid to play a game. This comic is about how to get rich, not necessarily how to stay rich. One could easily argue that most of the people who fall into the #2 way listed in this comic (Dumb luck, which is where I’d categorize actors and sports stars) don’t tend to stay rich for very long. In fact 70% of all lottery winners end up bankrupt within five years of winning. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the comic:D
Hi Brian,
Just wanted to say that I enjoyed the comic but more than that, enjoyed reading the discussions in the comment section. It’s easy these days for disagreements on the internet to turn ugly so it was nice to see calm, rational arguments from you and your readers 🙂 Cheers!
Thanks Akshay!