Being Rich

When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is. — Oscar Wilde

 There is a concept in today’s America, even the world, that being rich and having money is evil and the people who have it are corrupt. This fact is true. Drug dealers are evil and corrupt. Gangsters of the Mafia type are evil and corrupt. Tyrants who enslave nations are evil and corrupt. All these types of people have lots and lots of money. In fact they are in love with money and they love their money so much they will lie, cheat, steal, and murder anyone in order to keep it.

 Yet there is more to the movement that no one seems to grasp: The political side of being rich. There are many politicians who are filthy rich, which is they have lots and lots of money. These same politicians are now trying to convince you that having money is bad, really, really bad and therefore you don’t need money and you should never become rich. I find this concept interesting. These politicians want and demand that I pay my meager wage to the government in the form of taxes so that I can feel good about being poor.

Go ahead, dream big dreams. Then let Brian Tracy show you how to make all those dreams come true. It’s not wishful thinking…it’s the psychology of achievement.

 I somehow find that logic not very appealing. I should be poor so I can feel good about myself? I should give all my money to the politician so they can tell me I can feel good about myself? I should barely survive so the politician can live in luxury on my taxes? Is this the message Washington is now sending? The answer is: Yes.

 Being poor is apparently noble and right while being rich is evil and corrupt. So how exactly does condemning the rich help me? Will condemning the rich add food to my table? Will condemning the rich pay my bills? Will condemning the rich make me happy? Will condemning the rich improve my life?

 According to the political types it does. So how exactly does that work in my favor? Maybe I’m just dense but I had a conversation the other day on this topic and I asked this question: When was the last time a poor person gave you a job?

 The answer I received was very confusing. The person responded with: That’s like asking are you still beating your wife?

 Huh? How are the two related? I don’t get it, maybe it’s because I’m a conservative and not a liberal, I don’t know. I guess to liberals it makes perfect sense but to me the response just seems stupid and dumb. A poor person has never given me a job but thanks to liberal politicians it is still legal to beat your wife in Los Angeles as long as the belt is less than two inches wide, unless you obtain her consent to a wider strap. To my knowledge that law is still on the books and active, but don’t quote me on that as I could be wrong.

 I don’t know exactly how to become rich and this is a dilemma for me. All my life I was told over and over the rich are evil and criminal. It didn’t matter who the rich was, every rich person was bad and having a lot of money would send you straight to hell.

 Now being a religious type, having grown up in a religious household I believed the hype. Those thoughts were seared deep into my subconscious at an early age and I believed every word of it. I still suffer from that condition to this day. I was denied a really beautiful life because well-intentioned adults ensured that my soul would be saved if I just stayed poor and uneducated in the area of finances.

 Then those very words were conveyed by the leaders of the land, having a lot of money was really a bad idea and you don’t really want to be a bad person do you? What a message to send to the country. But it worked and rich instead of becoming role models became evil entities which needed to be destroyed anyway possible, unless of course they gave all their money to the politician. Enter Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, two men who seem to be immune from the political attacks upon the wealthy. Why is that? What makes them immune, aren’t they really, really rich?

 The answer can only be one thing: They have to give a lot of money to some politician. Of course they aren’t alone in this regard; corporations give a lot of money to all politicians in order to keep from becoming targets. Why is that? Why are businesses being shaken down by politicians and bureaucrats?

 The answer lies in the greed of the politician. Political power corrupts the weak minded. There are exceptions but they are few and far between. The bottom line becomes: Most politicians lust for power and will do anything to keep it. Anything.

 So now we come to you and me. Individuals caught in the middle of the political lust fest of power. Because power gives a politician control over your life via taxes, rules, and regulations we the individuals are trapped into doing the will of a government gone mad. Gasoline prices in California are astronomical because the politicians in this state have become the nannies of the general population. Environmental laws established in the 1970’s, under the current governor are now coming home to roost and it’s only going to get worse. The golden state is now becoming the lead weight state, oppressing the people with lies and regulations designed to empower the few at the expense of the many.

 So what can we, as individuals, do about it? A lot actually but it takes something called self-responsibility to make changes. But like the nation this state is filled with freeloaders who feast at the expense of the honest taxpayer. That aside and coming back to point the one thing we can do is vote, and we can vote the current rascals out of office and replace them with new blood. What the new blood does remains to be seen but they too can be voted out and replaced by others at the appropriate time.

 So number one: Vote. Number two: Take complete responsibility for your life. This means you need to believe in yourself and your abilities. It is your right and your duty to become as wealthy as you possibly can. This is so much easier said than done but it is a critical element you must consider if you want a better life for yourself and your family. So how does this work?

 Foremost, stop the class envy. Most of the rich in this country have earned their right to be rich. They didn’t steal anything from you or put you down or destroy your life. The politicians and thugs and gangs and Hollywood elites do that. You even do it to yourself. So instead of hating the rich learn to emulate them.

Did you ever wonder just what makes people tick? Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do, where your habits, patterns and way of living started? Do you wonder if ‘human nature’ is a product of the environment or something that you are born with and is buried deep down?

 Ask: How did that person become rich? What actions did he or she take to become rich? How many hours did they have to work and sacrifice to obtain what they currently have? How many years did it take them to earn what they have? How many people have they helped along the way? Who was their mentor? How much pain in their life did they have to endure to “become rich?”

 Have you even considered asking any of these questions? Or do you blindly accept the words of the politician and Hollywood elite that being rich is evil? If you do you are one of the 47 percent who demand I give you my money. Like hell I will. But the politician will ensure you receive what I work to earn, of that you can be sure of. So ask yourself this question: Who benefits from class envy? You? Me? I don’t think so but then again I don’t associate with the Occupy movement.

 Another question you should ask is: What is the real purpose of the distribution of wealth? Who benefits? Does taking something, in this case money, from someone who earned it and giving it to a bum who hasn’t earned it really beneficial? To the bum it is.

 Yet the human condition is strange, give a man a fish and he demands more, and he demands you give it to him every day. But teach a man to fish and he can feed himself forever, with as much as he wants, whenever he wants. The same is true with money: give a man money and he will spend it like water pouring out of a bucket. Then he will demand you give him more. And then more after that. There is no end to the game. And as long as the bum votes for the politician there will be no end to the game unless we vote the politician out.

 Consider this: When a man sweats, toils, and sacrifices he begins to develop character, something the elites and political class cannot and will not tolerate. But the man of character has other ideas because the frustrations and disappointments he encounters make him stronger and more determined to reach his goal. Then, at the appropriate time, the universe in its magical way relents and showers upon the man gold and silver for a job well done, a reward well earned.

 Then the politician comes along and demands you give all you have, all you worked for, to someone who never lifted a finger to help himself. And this is called fairness? Or maybe compassion? I call it greed and lust for power, the very essence of evil incarnate and most politicians in today’s world excel at this type of “compassion.”

 As an individual you must decide what you want out of life. It is not easy to reach the gold ring for if it were everyone could and would be rich. But it is possible just as long as the politicians and elitist “who know what is best for us” stay away and do what they do best: Lay in the mud with the rest of the pigs.

 G.

About GP McClure

I am a technical writer with over 30 years of writing experience in a variety of subjects and topics, covering a wide range of industries, but specializing in aviation. I have lived in the San Diego California area since 1972 for the most part but spent some years in Japan and Alaska, thanks to the United States Navy. I retired from the Navy in 1992, having served 20 years of active duty in the aviation field.
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