"it is highly unlikely that you will achieve a fraction of the success of your more well funded peers"
Just goes to show that the human psyche cares more about relative prosperity than absolute prosperity. This is well documented in research. Still, I have to question why you would prefer to be 'rich' in a place without running water rather than be 'poor' in America (where the poor people only have one TV and have to drive used cars).
Of course, there are a lot of people worse off than my above glibness suggests, and I think we should definitely be doing all we can to help those people out, but don't try and claim being poor in America is somehow worse than being poor anywhere else just because people like Warren Buffet live here.
"Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people getting rich."
The fact that you called Warren Buffet an asshole shows that you do. If you knew anything about the guy, you'd know he doesn't rate anywhere on the asshole scale. My guess he is just a soft target because he happens to be so rich that he is a statistically anomaly.
You seem to consider quality of life as something you can measure by material gain. Nobody cares about televisions and cars when they come down with cancer and can't afford treatment.
Being rich in America is certainly great. Being poor in America is not that much different than being poor in the developing world, aside from the better hand-me-downs.
I'd suggest traveling to a country in the developing world before making a statement like that.
Clean water (ie, no Malaria), soup kitchens, human rights, no shanty towns, opportunity to improve your life, and the availability of public education provide a safety net that developing countries often lack.
Being poor in America is surely difficult, but I'd much rather be poor here (or in the developed world in general) than be poor in a 3rd world country.
I think you guys missed the point of this downmodded guy's argument because he focused on the wrong thing. In the world economy today, if you're born poor, whether in America or the third world, you're not going to end up like Warren Buffett. It's impossible to go from the lower class to being an uber-capitalist.
You are probably right... I think all the opportunities to pull a Andrew Carnegie or Bill Gates or Sergey Brin/Larry Page in our current economy require education, (some) resources, and free time to tinker, which is really hard when you are living hand to mouth.
The ability to social climb probably requires several generations at this point. First getting into the middle class, then the upper middle class, then finally into the owner class. I still say it's possible, but yeah, it'd require a brilliant mind and a lot of luck to do it all in one leap.
"In high-income countries more than two-thirds of all people live beyond the age of 70 and die of chronic diseases: cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancers, diabetes or dementia. Lung infection remains the only leading infectious cause of death.
...
In low-income countries less than a quarter of all people reach the age of 70, and nearly a third of all deaths are among children under 14. Although cardiovascular diseases together represent the leading cause of death in these countries, infectious diseases (above all HIV/AIDS, lung infections, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria) together claim more lives. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth together continue to be a leading cause of death, claiming the lives of both infants and mothers."
Still think that being poor in America is as terrible as being poor in the developing world? How many kids do you know of that die of diarrhea in America? I'm not saying either situation is a panacea, but seriously, everyone in this country won the 'ovarian lottery' just by being here.
Just goes to show that the human psyche cares more about relative prosperity than absolute prosperity. This is well documented in research. Still, I have to question why you would prefer to be 'rich' in a place without running water rather than be 'poor' in America (where the poor people only have one TV and have to drive used cars).
Of course, there are a lot of people worse off than my above glibness suggests, and I think we should definitely be doing all we can to help those people out, but don't try and claim being poor in America is somehow worse than being poor anywhere else just because people like Warren Buffet live here.
"Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people getting rich."
The fact that you called Warren Buffet an asshole shows that you do. If you knew anything about the guy, you'd know he doesn't rate anywhere on the asshole scale. My guess he is just a soft target because he happens to be so rich that he is a statistically anomaly.