# Ask me what it's like to be rich **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 6, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908 "2010-02-06T04:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/81 "2010-02-07T00:54:40Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > … I’m fairly confident I don’t sound like a douche around my [lawyer] friends. Clearly. Maybe that’s part of the problem. > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > … I mean, what are my options–find some white collar professional that makes less than me and give him/her some cash? Are you trying to interview for this position? That’s ok. Somehow I manage to make ends meet on my six figure mangement consultant’s salary.:rolleyes: > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I really feel like I’m letting you guys down in the “rich-guy stuff” category. Just for you guys, I’ve decided to have a sexy party tonight with a bunch of naked stewardesses and coke everywhere. And then tomorrow I’ll take up underwater polo (with horse and rider in scuba gear) or some other rich-guy hobby. The senior executives in my old firm were much more interesting rich guys. Every week it was some new hobby like “mixed martial arts” or “race car training” or whatever. Showing up to happy hours with a way too young female “friend” who wasn’t their wife or dropping cash for bottle service at fancy Manhattan strip clubs. > [@Euphonious Polemic](#): > > Does this interfer with your billable hours? What makes you think he doesn’t bill these hours?😉 > [@F. U. Shakespeare](#): > > Basically, I only part with you on the role that luck plays for successful people in America. > > My origins are similar to yours. Lower middle-class (West Virginia). …I was almost 27 when I finished college (bachelor’s in electrical engineering) and landed a job in the intelligence community, where I’ve worked for almost 25 years. > > I sometimes work 80-hour weeks, performing highly-skilled work, occasionally in wartime conditions. I’ve been shot at, and came close to dying from a flu virus last year at a remote base. I’ve also managed to earn two master’s degrees, mostly at night school. I have worked at least as hard as you, and could convince myself that luck had nothing to do with my success. Certainly luck always plays a factor in any career. But going to college and a masters programs, grad school, working 80 hour weeks, risking danger, and the jobs you chose to pursue are all decisions you made. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/82 "2010-02-07T01:05:06Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Certainly luck always plays a factor in any career. But going to college and a masters programs, grad school, working 80 hour weeks, risking danger, and the jobs you chose to pursue are all decisions you made. Absolutely. But I know people who worked as hard and made similar decisions who had worse outcomes than I did. I also know people who made the same decisions and had _better_ luck than me. But if you’re doing well in America in 2010, you probably know a lot more people in the first category than the second, if you’re keeping track. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/83 "2010-02-07T01:06:54Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Certainly luck always plays a factor in any career. But going to college and a masters programs, grad school, working 80 hour weeks, risking danger, and the jobs you chose to pursue are all decisions you made. Yeah, but how they actually turn out is only partially informed by the decisions you make. I find the stories of people who never made partner, washed out of a great career, or blew up their trading books to be much more interesting. There are lots of these stories, and very often, it is not possible to tell the successes from the failures without knowing how things turned out. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/84 "2010-02-07T01:39:25Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Well, if I thought that the role luck played in a person’s success were truly unknowable (i.e., could be anywhere from 0%-100%), I’d probably be less quick than I’ve seen you to be to assert that unsuccessful people are to blame for their situation. OK. I will be less quick. Thanks for the tips, guy. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/85 "2010-02-07T02:44:45Z")
He’s not your guy, buddy. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/86 "2010-02-07T05:07:49Z")
I just don’t get this thread. This insistance that there is luck involved. Sure, luck is involved. Every time I cross the street and don’t get mugged or run over, I’ve had a spot of luck. My experience has been that your much “luckier” if you’re good at something and work your ass off. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/87 "2010-02-07T05:28:09Z")
I don’t consider you lucky at all. I think a better word would be “pitiable.” ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/88 "2010-02-07T05:38:27Z")
> [@turner](#): > > I just don’t get this thread. This insistance that there is luck involved. Sure, luck is involved. Every time I cross the street and don’t get mugged or run over, I’ve had a spot of luck. My experience has been that your much “luckier” if you’re good at something and work your ass off. I’ll admit I was a little disingenuous in my first post. We are also “rich” by a lot of people’s definitions. But in our case, there is a LOT of luck. We are ten years older, hit the dot com boom, made careers off of technology when that didn’t take a hell of a lot of talent or skill (but had enough talent or skill to keep them). Made a mint on the dot com boom (and were lucky enough to cash out some of it before the bust). On the other hand, we’ve always been a two income family - even when it meant $20k a year in daycare expenses. We’ve always spent below our means. We’ve both been known to do our fair share of 60-80 hour weeks - sometimes for months at a time. We’ve put up with TERRIBLE bosses, long commutes and being on call over the holidays for little pay. I know people who worked their asses off - for the wrong company. Or for the wrong boss at the wrong moment. It generally takes both talent and luck. (I used to work for a bunch of tax attorneys. Its not a bad career choice for being highly paid. But as someone who majored in accounting and worked for tax attorneys…I’m not sure its a path I’d pick). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/89 "2010-02-07T13:22:47Z")
Why should I care if the government takes most of your money? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/90 "2010-02-07T13:28:15Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why should I care if the government takes most of your money? Same reason I care if the government knocks down your door and kills you. Also, there are lots of practical negative effects to high tax rates that you ignore in your glee to stick it to the rich. Higher tax rates means less investment and business creation/expansion, which means higher unemployment and just less economic activity overall. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/91 "2010-02-07T13:41:45Z")
I make about 100k less than you a year and am happy as a lark. Should I feel sorry for you? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/92 "2010-02-07T13:49:07Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Higher tax rates means less investment and business creation/expansion, which means higher unemployment and just less economic activity overall. Not in a recession. Production is already reduced far below capacity, so increasing capital does nothing to stimulate job growth. Why would an employer add capacity when he can’t utilize what he already has? And in an expanding economy, tax cuts are unnecessary to stimulate job growth; increasing demand already does that. Historically, the economy expands under higher tax rates, and contracts under lower tax rates. Your theories are bass-ackwards. Tax cuts go directly into the pockets of the owner/stockholders. But you know that. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/93 "2010-02-07T13:57:46Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I make about 100k less than you a year and am happy as a lark. Should I feel sorry for you? 😕 Also, I haven’t said how much I make, so your statement is a guess. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/94 "2010-02-07T13:59:21Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Not in a recession. Production is already reduced far below capacity, so increasing capital does nothing to stimulate job growth. Why would an employer add capacity when he can’t utilize what he already has? > > And in an expanding economy, tax cuts are unnecessary to stimulate job growth; increasing demand already does that. > > Historically, the economy expands under higher tax rates, and contracts under lower tax rates. Your theories are bass-ackwards. > > Tax cuts go directly into the pockets of the owner/stockholders. But you know that. Please go spread your drivel elsewhere, this thread is to ask me questions. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/95 "2010-02-07T14:02:11Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Please go spread your drivel elsewhere, this thread is to ask me questions. Thanks. Huh. I didn’t ask if taxes stimulated job growth, yet you felt compelled to spread ignorance. I see how it is in Libertopia; the rules only apply to the other guy.` ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/96 "2010-02-07T14:03:13Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > 😕 > > Also, I haven’t said how much I make, so your statement is a guess. Sorry, glossed over the part where you said you make substantially more over 250k. Anyway, this thread seems to be disingenuous. What I’m reading between the lines is you’re saying, “I’m being fiscally raped by the government.” What other reason to start such a thread? So, am I to feel sorry for you if you’re in a higher tax bracket than me? Do you want pity here, or ego stroking? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/97 "2010-02-07T14:03:44Z")
I was answering your question, not spreading ignorance (which is what you are doing, by the way). ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/98 "2010-02-07T14:06:38Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > So, am I to feel sorry for you if you’re in a higher tax bracket than me? Do you want pity here, or ego stroking? First, “people” aren’t in tax brakets–income is. Second, I don’t want pity or ego stroking–there was a thread where someone could ask questions to a poor person (who’s not really a poor person, just a college student who grew up in a poor family), so I thought I would start a thread where someone could ask questions to a rich person (for certain definitions of “rich”–i.e., I’m a working guy who makes a lot but it’s not like I have piles of wealth). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/99 "2010-02-07T14:09:18Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I was answering your question, not spreading ignorance (which is what you are doing, by the way). When did I ask if tax cuts create jobs? Which they don’t, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/100 "2010-02-07T14:23:43Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > First, “people” aren’t in tax brakets–income is. Second, I don’t want pity or ego stroking–there was a thread where someone could ask questions to a poor person (who’s not really a poor person, just a college student who grew up in a poor family), so I thought I would start a thread where someone could ask questions to a rich person (for certain definitions of “rich”–i.e., I’m a working guy who makes a lot but it’s not like I have piles of wealth). Ahh, okay. Semantics to the rescue. That cleared up everything. Thanks. :rolleyes: I think this thread would be more appropriate for the obscenely rich. Like billionaires, where the wealth is so immense, there’s no question as to whether or not they fit in the definition of “rich”. Also, the super rich are usually in positions of power. Are you in such a position? The difference for poor people is, they’re at the bottom of a sand pit, trying to dig themselves out. They’re living without vital things like proper shelter, food, healthcare, etc. “Rich” people, such as yourself, don’t have to worry about that, no matter what bracket your income level is at. Trying to decide whether or not to buy a winter coat or groceries for the month, is much different that trying to decide what options you should get on your beemer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908.md?page=6)