A rant
“Capitalism is evil. Money is broken.” I hear these kinds of things all the time.
There are absolutely problems with the system. When you think about it, it’s pretty screwed up that if you save your money, you will end up poor because of interest making your money worth less and less.
But any system has problems and as far as the ones that have been tried, we have a pretty damn good one. It’s certainly better than being a subsistence farmer and one day having a roving band of samurai come and steal all your food.
All you have to do is not go into debt. Spend less than you earn. And then put a little bit aside each month into the S&P 500. If you put just $35 dollars aside each month from the time you’re 16, and never a penny more, you would retire with $1 million. Never before in human history has such wealth been accessible to your average Joe.
But you ditch this system for Socialism, it all falls apart. China is the prime example of this. Stock markets are done. Real Estate collapsed. The whole system is propped up by lies and debt.
Yet polls show 60% of adults under 30 view socialism positively. I think it comes from that generation being the most privileged human beings in human history with unrealistic expectations about what they deserve and the amount of work it will take to get it.
Yes, there was the 2008 financial crash. Covid. Unprecedented events that we came of age in that made things hard. But that’s life. Imagine coming of age and World War I starts.
Our hardships are nothing like what people in the past had to deal with. We have running water and AC. The US has one of the most progressive income taxes in the western world. 60% of the US budget is spent on social programs. Only slightly more than 13% is spent on military.
But there’s this weird belief that the world should be a utopia, where everyone should have everything they want all the time and no one should have to face any kind of obstacle. That worldview is only possible with absurd levels of privilege. These people think under socialism everyone can just make art.
Budget. Stay out of debt. Invest a little in index funds. That’s all it takes. Let freedom ring.
Comments (3)
Couldn't have said it better. I preached on the church in Laodicea yesterday, and it's right in line. This is the most privileged, "entitled" generation ever.
Capitalism is just broken, it is dying and I absolutely refuse to die with it or to allow it to destroy my homeland; the homeland of Foundational Black Americans, as it implodes.
I wholeheartedly agree! I believe there two issues at the heart of this. #1 Lack of opportunity- For the first time in human history, the labor market is shrinking. Our economy is planned around the world with a labor scarcity that no longer exists. College used to be affordable and nearly guaranteed high paying occupations. Not anymore! AI and automation is accelerating the problem. #2 Societal Entitlement and Indoctrination-People have it TOO EASY! The younger generations have never gone hungry or been self reliant. People (US) no longer know how to cook, sew, garden, can/preserve, forage, hunt… KIDS WANT LIVES! Can you blame them? There’s a shocking amount of Millennials who never left home. Even worse, these people aren’t all to blame! The gutting of American industry, online retailers, working from home and illegal immigration has resulted a large drop in employment opportunities. Good paying factory jobs are nearly extinct. I don’t blame young people for feeling trapped and hoping for relief. Unfortunately they have been trained by our society to seek a government handout. Kids aren’t taught to take care of themselves. Just like their parents. Because their parents were too busy working jobs to teach them. Like their traditional parents did. It was also exacerbated by increased single parenthood. I believe that the recent trend of Homesteading is the result of these issues facing society. I only wish that the answer was as clear as the issues…