# 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:** 9
**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 8, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/161 "2010-02-08T22:15:59Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Or they just go to a place like Dubai or Qatar where people like you aren’t needed since there are no taxes and thus no need for tax gurus. the text you quoted was in the context of Wordman working on a deal with me, in which case he would have hired me to receive tax advice. I agree with you that of course there are lots of deals where it is not necessary to hire me in the first place, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the scenario Wordman and I were discussing. ---
**Author:** ![blinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@blinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkie)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/162 "2010-02-08T22:26:36Z")
Let me get this straight , you have 2 hours of free time a day, a young child, a 33 year old wife, lots of money and you waste time posting. Either you’re a liar or an idiot. ---
**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 8, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/163 "2010-02-08T22:27:34Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Also, I get paid whether or not you do–my fee is paid whether the investment makes money or not. And that is why you will never make the big money. Rich, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/164 "2010-02-08T22:34:57Z")
My wife and I (and our soon-to-arrive baby) own a small, inexpensive house in a beautiful, forested historic district in a city we both love. We are both doing things which we find important and useful to both our own happiness and the well-being of the world at large (she works with libraries, I am an ecologist). I have a basement devoted to my one real hobby - music. We have pets, and the small (plastic, in-ground) pond in our wooded back yard attracts hordes of beautiful frogs in the Spring. My yard blooms with native flowers, the hummingbirds love our place, and I have a black king snake in the pile of rocks right out beside where I keep the canoe. I’m richer than the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/165 "2010-02-08T22:35:11Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You are right that I don’t make business decisions or exercise business judgment. But I do make legal decisions and exercise legal judgment. I don’t merely make sure there aren’t any typos in the legal docs. People like you won’t do deals unless they get an opinion from people like me that the tax implications will be as expected. > > Also, I get paid whether or not you do–my fee is paid whether the investment makes money or not. > > So, from that standpoint, it is laughable for you to attempt to swing your business-guy dick around when you won’t do shit unless I say it’s OK and I make money even if you lose your ass. Nah, son. You got served. But back to the OP, Have you ever felt any guilt for throwing away money…I mean for making an entirely frivolous purchase? I don’t think I would. I would burn mad money, man. I told my daughter that if I ever hit the lotto (I don’t play) Imma burn through whatever she thinks her inheritance will be, so she better plan on paying her own way through life! My apologies if this question has already been asked. I’m at work and only skimming. ---
**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 8, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/166 "2010-02-08T22:38:05Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > That’s absolutely right. Most people don’t let pets out in the cold to starve to death. But Libertarians are happy to treat human beings that way. You need to stop thinking that (i) something won’t be done if the government doesn’t do it and (ii) if I don’t want the government to do something then I don’t want it done. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/167 "2010-02-08T22:43:51Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You need to stop thinking that (i) something won’t be done if the government doesn’t do it and (ii) if I don’t want the government to do something then I don’t want it done. A convenient excuse for your andropathy. In reality, you would not either. You will not donate to charity, you would not help a starving person. ---
**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 8, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/168 "2010-02-08T22:45:20Z")
> [@blinkie](#): > > Let me get this straight , you have 2 hours of free time a day, a young child, a 33 year old wife, lots of money and you waste time posting. Either you’re a liar or an idiot. I wrote this post in 20 seconds while waiting for something to print at work, thus not taking time away from work or family. But thanks for your concern. BTW, I know you are new here, so you should know that I’m the only person that it is OK to call a liar or an idiot in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/169 "2010-02-08T22:47:33Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You need to stop thinking that \*\*(i) something won’t be done if the government doesn’t do it \*\*and (ii) if I don’t want the government to do something then I don’t want it done. Perhaps you will consider the [collective action problem](http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/free-rider/) this time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/170 "2010-02-08T22:52:06Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wrote this post in 20 seconds while waiting for something to print at work, thus not taking time away from work or family. Heh heh. The $600/hr tax lawyer has to print his own stuff. Now that’s believable. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/171 "2010-02-08T22:53:19Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Heh heh. The $600/hr tax lawyer has to print his own stuff. Now that’s believable. And he just wasted $3.33 of somebody’s money posting on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/172 "2010-02-08T22:53:59Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > And he just wasted $3.33 of somebody’s money posting on the Dope. Hope that wasn’t billable! ---
**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 8, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/173 "2010-02-08T23:00:23Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > A convenient excuse for your andropathy. > > In reality, you would not either. You will not donate to charity, you would not help a starving person. You are wrong. You don’t have the intellectual ability to attack my ideas, so you impugn my motives. It’s really sad. I don’t give much to charity now because charity is forced from me. I would give more to charity if it were solely volubtary because I could choose how my money is spent. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/174 "2010-02-08T23:04:38Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I don’t give much to charity now because charity is forced from me. I would give more to charity if it were solely volubtary because I could choose how my money is spent. Bull, and you know it. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/175 "2010-02-08T23:07:27Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wrote this post in 20 seconds while waiting for something to print at work, thus not taking time away from work or family. But thanks for your concern. BTW, I know you are new here, so you should know that I’m the only person that it is OK to call a liar or an idiot in MPSIMS. So I assume you did not bill anyone for that 20 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/176 "2010-02-08T23:11:59Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You are right that I don’t make business decisions or exercise business judgment. But I do make legal decisions and exercise legal judgment. I don’t merely make sure there aren’t any typos in the legal docs. People like you won’t do deals unless they get an opinion from people like me that the tax implications will be as expected. > > Also, I get paid whether or not you do–my fee is paid whether the investment makes money or not. > > So, from that standpoint, it is laughable for you to attempt to swing your business-guy dick around when you won’t do shit unless I say it’s OK and I make money even if you lose your ass. You appear to have a business-as-second-language understanding of the words, but you clearly are tone-deaf to the music. You are an hourly tax grunt. You make nothing happen. You are not powerful. And by your own accounting, you are not rich. Why do you feel the need to expose yourself as such a pathetic tool? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/177 "2010-02-08T23:30:38Z")
> [@blinkie](#): > > Let me get this straight , you have 2 hours of free time a day, a young child, a 33 year old wife, lots of money and you waste time posting. Either you’re a liar or an idiot. Please refrain from personal insults in MPSIMS. twickster, moderator ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/178 "2010-02-08T23:59:54Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You are wrong. You don’t have the intellectual ability to attack my ideas, so you impugn my motives. It’s really sad. > > I don’t give much to charity now because charity is forced from me. I would give more to charity if it were solely volubtary because I could choose how my money is spent. So you consider everything that you pay in taxes to be charity? Or what are you trying to say here? You are not very good at explaining yourself, it seems to me. Maybe you have noticed. ---
**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 9, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/179 "2010-02-09T00:26:57Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I think it’s laughable that you are such a Ayn Rand fan when your job is clearly more Wesley Mouch than Hank Reardon or John Galt. Thank you for saying this. I think \*\*Rand Rover \*\*is one of those guys who reads \*Atlas Shrugged \*and winds up idolizing the wrong Taggart. ---
**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 9, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908/180 "2010-02-09T00:51:38Z")
I’ve never compared myself to Hank or Dagny, but I’m nothing like Jim Taggart or Wesley Mouch. I guess I’m more like Dagny’s assistant (Eddie Willers or something). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-me-what-its-like-to-be-rich/527908.md?page=10)