Stuff on My Mind: The Rich

I have been thinking a lot about what my friend had said and also stumbled upon a Yahoo Finance column by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad. The column is titled "Why the Rich are Getting Richer." Its very interesting. Its not so much advice how to get rich which in his first article When Good Advice Isn't he basically peddles his "products" as the tool for getting rich from his advice. No, its more an explanation of the history that led to the current economic situation of today and an explanation of why the investments people make today doesn't make them rich. That first article is also interesting because he points out what I've known for awhile, investments in the stock market are extremely risky and very costly at times. But more importantly, when reading through his articles (and a little reading between the lines) you get insight as to why there are people like my friend. One of the fatal flaws my friend made (whether intentional or not) was that anyone can work hard to become rich, therefore poor people had it coming. The problem is that our economy today depends heavily on as few people as possible being rich. So, you have people who give "good" advice that really isn't good so that only the people who know better get rich while everyone else can't because of the "advice" from the "financial expert." (Honestly, I'm not so confident in this guys advice either). Another mistake my friend makes is that anyone can do something like what Kiyosaki did. I happen to think that Kiyosaki had a bit of luck on his side as well. Something not all of us have.

I don't want to get too heavily involved in my friends rants or Kiyosaki's articles. My first point, and one of the things you can get from the column, is that the rich are in control, getting richer, and using every means in the book they can to make sure they stay in control while the rest of us our out of control. Kiyosaki also mentions of a book called "The Dollar Crisis" by Richard Duncan that talks about the impending devaluing of the Dollar. Another thing that I suspect is around the corner. You already have an idea of it based on the fact that the Euro is now stronger and potentially the replacement currency for the dollar. I mention this because it leads to my next point, which is that based on this and other things I've heard, this can potentially cause an economically catastrophic event the likes of which can make The Great Depression look like a miniscule recession. One of my problems with American Capitalism (note that I am not attacking Capitalism itself, just America's version) is the fact that it requires that there be poverty. Most rich people might say "its part of life, like huricanes and tornato's," the whole social darwinism idea. I say that is bullshit. Darwins purpose was to explain nature, where as capitalism is a manmade concept. Like our forefathers, I believe everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How is poverty happiness? But also, I believe everyone has the right to basic needs such as food, water, and shelter, regardless of what they are or are not capable of. Our ancestors had it but had the ability to do it themselves. Now, too many people do not have it and either do not have the skills to get it on their own or are prevented by law.