Why the disdain for “rich” people ?

[GypsmJim]

But surely you’d agree the CEO is worth many more times the wage of an entry level “whatever” ? I’m a retired teamster. I was an elected union rep. I was on the bargaining committee. I’ve seen the books. I know what management and officers of the company made. I also saw what the owners made. It never bothered me. Because if they were making money. I had a job. I guess I only worried about me. That’s all I could control.

What you said is all quite true. If Management does a good job and keeps you working, they deserve every penny they get.

OTOH, my experience varies. Our top 12 Executives took the company private. It cost a dear penny, and the mortgage proved to be more than they could handle. Just before bankruptcy, they all cashed in and retired, leaving the junk bond holders and principal stockholders with 5 cents on the dollar.

After emerging bankruptcy, with a new and clever CEO, our balance sheet was outstanding. But the new Management wanted even more. They devised a plan to run lean and mean. Layoffs cut beyond the fat, and right to the bone. Middle Management was decimated. All seven VPs that orchestrated the layoffs also lost their positions.

All Seven were promoted to SENIOR Vice President. (You can't make this stuff up)

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

The top 10% of wealthy people controlled as much as 90% …

10% of all people or 10% of the 1%ers?

So are you saying homeowners are wealthy?

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Because class envee works at the ballot box . Out here left coast every election it’s tax the rich don’t pay their fare share. All the usual chants .

The last CA Ballot Measure to tax the rich was opposed by us, the Republican Party of California and Gavin Newsome.

Gavin Newsome disagreed with the Democratic Party of California frequently but that is downplayed. Newsome will never debate a Democrat especially a Progressive. Regardless of party lines billionaires stick together.

 

[BrBa]

I teach college (I know, I know, insert how awful and the 'L' word professors are here) - the complaints currently arising, at least from the young people I encounter bringing this up, are in regard to wealth inequality, not simply 'rich' vs poor. Wealth inequality has grown quite a lot in our country and most developed Western countries.

Rich people, eh let'em be rich. But also let'em pay taxes at the same rate w/o dubious financial shelters and a thousand safeguards for private business that guard the business before the worker. (And yes, I have sucessfully owned and run private businesses; I disdained it so I go into teaching.)

That's all I'll say on the matter here, but it's the disparity between the common worker and the CEO that angers people - and probably rightfully, as it has never in modern history been such a deep gap.

*Wanted to add - while I personally am, as Ray Charles once put it, 'comfortable', it is my earnest belief that if I invented the bloody wheel, put into place all the business organization and construction for its build and continual use, and started WheelCo, Inc - as founder and CEO I would still NEVER deserve 300x (or more) what my lowest paid worker makes.

I read the other day the median CEO compensation for companies in the S&P was over $17 million in 2024, which was a nearly 10% increase from 2023. Meanwhile, median worker bee compensation in the same companies was about $85000, and increased less than 2% during the same period. I understand how that might irritate some folks.

 

[Golddollar]

I think it was Buffett who said "Leave them enough so that they can do anything they want but not enough so that they can do nothing."

I like that. I'm going to keep that in mind when I re-write my will.

 

['79 Magnum GT]

Rich folks are the ones that create companies and create jobs. Have you ever worked for a "poor" person? I think not.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Autonomous]

What you said is all quite true. If Management does a good job and keeps you working, they deserve every penny they get.

OTOH, my experience varies. Our top 12 Executives took the company private. It cost a dear penny, and the mortgage proved to be more than they could handle. Just before bankruptcy, they all cashed in and retired, leaving the junk bond holders and principal stockholders with 5 cents on the dollar.

After emerging bankruptcy, with a new and clever CEO, our balance sheet was outstanding. But the new Management wanted even more. They devised a plan to run lean and mean. Layoffs cut beyond the fat, and right to the bone. Middle Management was decimated. All seven VPs that orchestrated the layoffs also lost their positions.

All Seven were promoted to SENIOR Vice President. (You can't make this stuff up)

Self-serving greedy sociopaths occupy all power strictures. Business is just one of the platforms they exploit.
We had an ambitious manager furlough a bunch of guys on Christmas Eve to show his bosses he was capable of doing anything.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I'm referring to CEO vs lowest paid worker, not wealth shares per class. I don't make assumptions about economics - I may have different views than you, but I refer to facts.

Spot on.

A paid worker in 1911 is the same as in 2011. But CEOs have skyrocketed in that period and are still going up.

 

[Golddollar]

One of the best educations I got was tending bar for awhile when our Sons of the American Legion squadron was helping the veterans to reactivate the post. The Sons acted as volunteer bartenders for the tips. It was a small bar and no drink mixing was involved but it was necessary to pay attention to see that nobody had an empty bottle or can in front of them for very long and handle the money. It was an education in learning about the lives of people who really had to live on tips. I thought I was a good tipper but the experience made me up my game. Last night I was at the club in town and one of the servers had a birthday. I made sure she got an extra stash of half dollars in addition to the tip I left.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

A full 50% of Americans pay zero income taxes. Their votes count …

A full 50% of Americans do pay income taxes. Their votes count too.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Even the poorest person on this forum is wealthy compared to much of the world.
I'm just a blue-collar retiree but feel wealthy.

I have traveled around the world and Americans can live very well on their retirement even in Europe.

 

[S-W4EVER]

The ones who irk me are the people who were born on third base but act like they hit a triple. You know, inherited Daddy's money...

I ran into this on the job. While most wealthy people are actually nice people who seldom use the services they pay for (through taxes), I knew an older couple who inherited their wealth and walked around with their noses in the stratosphere. They both drove Mercedes Benz’s (in a community where M-B’s were uncommon) and one night some bad guys from south of the border gave them a home invasion. The next morning a fellow Trooper and I entered a restaurant and the man asked, loudly enough for others to hear “Where were you at last night!” (Being a human being, working dayshift at the time I was home sleeping when this occurred.) I think the idiots actually thought they owned us...

 

[jasonfreeland]

I always liked the quote, from my favorite author, the best.

“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.​

― Robert Heinlein

 

[Gdogman]

Rodney King said "cant we all just get along"

Wow wow wow....and not one picture of a gun...Let me help

 

[Huskerguy]

Haven't read all the posts but my 2 cents. First, it is a narrative used by politicians to get us pitted against each other - rich=bad, poor need our money. Secondly, you have define "rich". I know a lot of people would see my savings and declare that I am rich which is not the case, I would consider myself comfortable. Third is there always have been rich and poor people throughout history. Jesus even said, the poor you will always have with you, yes there is a context there but you get the point. I have seen/heard of "rich" people who had partners cheat them out of everything only to regroup and start something new and go from broke to rich again. The "rich" just know the basics of finance and life, live below your means, save, etc.

I used to teach financial literacy to HS students and there was a book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The premise is that poor people spend their money on foolish things, don't understand saving and money management along with controlling their spending with a long term view in place. The rich dad spends wisely and invests rather than spends. Huge difference.

I have a BIL who is rich by most anyone's standards. He sold his business for millions, has several homes and is part owner in a private jet which is mode of travel. He was a CPA by training and knows how to run businesses and started with pretty much nothing, bought out his partners and built the business. He took risks and worked at it. I do not envy him for any of it, he earned it and didn't cheat anyone that I know of and in fact one time I know that they came into some extra cash and he gave it to his employee retirement accounts.

The lies about the "rich" don't pay their fair share is total BS. Are there advantages to having wealth? Of course, we have some rental properties and I can borrow against them. They are assets, most poor people do not have assets, they have liabilities and don't know the difference between them.

 

[dmn57]

This country is full of victims these days. It's always someone else's fault.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I once thought anyone with a million or more in net worth would be rich. With inflation in today's world that's really not true any more.

I saw a statistic that nearly a quarter of US households have a net worth over a million today. Much of that is home equity with today's sky high home prices rather than available to invest or spend, though.

Home equity can vanish like the Sun going down.

 

[Devil in the Shade]

The only rich people I disdain are the amount of Senators and Congressmen amassing great wealth from Foreign Lobby Groups. America is for sale or should I say politicians are for sale. How much to purchase a Senator these days? Just saw recently that one received 7 million. And that was not even the under the table money that he receives.

 

[Oldsalt66]

Unfortunately, socialism and the politics of envy, are intentionally ubiquitous throughout the academic community from kindergarten through graduate school, as well as the entire "information sphere", and are, therefore, ingrained into impressionable minds from cradle to grave.

Here's how the truly wealthy react when exposed to such inherently crippling nonsense:

"This doesn't affect us, it's only for people to hear".

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

I’m not a big social media guy. I’m only on two forums. But I’ve noticed a lot of derogatory language aimed at rich people. Why is this. Is it assumed that wealthy people amassed their fortune by screwing over others? Is it jealousy? Heck I don’t even know what people consider “rich”. I know for a fact there will be many net worth millionaires reading this right here on this forum. I don’t however think they are guilty of underhanded behavior. I guess rather than look in the mirror and asses what they’ve done wrong. Or question their decisions and work ethic it’s just easier to condemn others. I once had an ungrateful nephew spew a bunch of this crap in my direction. What say you?

I think I can give you some what of an answer here.
In my business, I have guarded millionaires and billionaires over the years. I divide them into three categories:

First is the "old money"- These folks inherited their wealth. They value their privacy and generally have nothing to prove to anyone and want to be left alone.

Second is the jet setters- These folks have earned their money and are enjoying it. They have fun, are good natured, and bother no one. BTW their parties are often a hoot!

Third is the socialites- THESE I have found are the issue. Vain, conceited, egotistical, like the media (and often put up an embarrassing spectacle to be in the limelight) and are contemptable as human beings. These tend to be the most prevalent and are what causes a lot of what you describe. For example, I was called a "peasant" by one who I didn't recognize (I still laugh to this day when I see her on TV during charity events). Some are even worse. I have had my life threatened on more than one occassion by these types just because I happened to be there and didn't kiss up to them.
Seeing these people at a society party (they all hate each other to the core but put on an often hilarious show) makes Jerry Springer look like Masterpiece Theatre. You can't really hate these people...they are pathetic in every way. I pity them. That is worse than hate.

In my experience they all fall somewhere into these three categories.