The Rich get Richer and The Poor Can Join Them!

I see this sort of argument (below) being made by people all the time and I assume it's kind of like the crabs in a bucket who keep latching onto and pulling down the one trying to climb out.

While there is certainly an advantage for those who are politically connected, or better educated or just flat had better opportunities at the end of the day this is a (sort of) free country where people have to choose whether to stake their claim on the world or try to make it working in someone else's venture. And for the moment we won't get into the impact our oppressive taxation has on people trying to elevate themselves; but...

An Indianapolis Star Topix Forum person asked: "How do you explain the rich getting richer and the poor and middle class getting poorer?"

Well, the difficult thing here is to define "what is rich"? To MOST people, "rich" is usually not that much higher up the scale than what they have. Are we talking income or accumulated assets? But, in simple terms, the answer here is relatively easy. Rich people know how to make and keep money. Poor people do not or they would not be poor. In an American style capitalist system the difference between rich and poor is largely a function of:

The decisions you make + how you think + what you do with your spare time.

Make bad decisions or mistakes personally or financially; have a poverty, scarcity or entitlement mentality; or waste your spare time watching Oprah and American Idol and you'll have a hard time getting ahead. Of course, there is a small "luck factor" that can influence things but people people largely make their own "luck".

There is no guarantee of success, but trying and failing is certainly more respectible than not trying and all and whining because others did.