It was when driving across Arizona I had a small, but important epiphany. I had the cheapest car I could rent, a cell phone approaching 3 years old, Wal-Mart attire, and would be sleeping on buddy's couch instead of having my own hotel room. Yet, despite these hallmarks of a lower-middle income life, I was perfectly happy, for soon I would be meeting my best friend for some hiking on some of Phoenix's finest trails.
But then it dawned on me.
One of these trails (Camelback Peak) was located in the prestigious "Paradise Valley" neighborhood of Phoenix. This neighborhood was so rich, they often mocked and ridiculed Scottsdale as a place they "make investments." But although my income came nowhere near to that of your average Paradise Valleyite, how was my life any measurably worse than one of theirs? I had a car, I had grub in my stomach, I was going to enjoy the exact same trails they got to, and I was going to be listening to podcasts on my phone the entire way. One could have even argued I was better off given my digital nomad career. What, precisely then, did the richest man of Paradise Valley have that I didn't?
This then got me thinking. Precisely what are the left so jealous of the rich over? What does the rich have that they don't? And as I thought about it, I soon realized a dark and sad truth about leftist psychology and leftism in general:
Just how pathetic and petty their jealousy is. And consequently, how that jealousy ruins their lives.
It is here we need a bit of historical context to understand the point I'm trying to make. We all know that today our poorest of the poor live like the richest of kings 500 years ago. Inventions like electricity, penicillin, plumbing all make today's humans infinitely better off than the richest of yesteryear. But we don't have to go 500 years ago in the past to see how incredibly better off today's humans are compared to past humans. Consider just 50 years ago.
There were no cell phones, the cars (though pretty) were drastically inferior (and more dangerous), food today is markedly improved as well as dirt cheap, clothing is dramatically cheaper, we have PC's, and houses are almost thrice the size with a fraction of the heating and cooling costs.
But forget 50 years ago. Let's just consider 20 years ago.
We have the internet. Smart phones. Exponentially faster computers and internet speeds. Netflix, huge and cheap flat screen TV's, hybrid cards, Tesla home batteries, Amazon, and the world's information at our finger tips. This allows us to teach ourselves, find things more rapidly, have ANYTHING we want delivered to our doorstep, not to mention this has opened up fields such as telecommuting, Ubering, and becoming a digital nomad. Consequently, our lives are dramatically improved compared to 1997 as we no longer have to commute (though we stupidly choose to), we no longer have to find dates at loud nightclubs, we can watch movies at home, we can run a myriad of chores from home (banking, bills, etc.), and we (I predict) will make college education free via the internet.
And ALL of these great technologies, and the opportunities that lay within, are available to EVERYONE.
Rich, poor.
Young, old.
Fat, skinny.
Male, female.
EVERYONE can avail themselves of all these innovations and advancements.
So what is it, precisely, the left has its envious green panties in a bundle over?
Well, consider 6 different items that the left would presumably begrudge the 1% over, which also, I believe, account for the majority of envy and jealousy on the left.
1. Cars
Cars are a classic example of the have and the have nots. Some people own used, salvaged Kia Rios. Others own Ferrari's and Telsa's. But aside from about $250,000 in price, can somebody tell me what the REAL difference between a used Hyundai Elantra is and a Mercedes G65?
In all reality, nothing.
My used, salvaged Kia Rio, which I paid $3,000 for, can do about 98% what the Mercedes G65 can. It can transport me in comfort, night or day, long distances regardless of the weather outside, all while playing music or podcasts from my cell phone. And not only can it do that, it can do it for a lot less in gas and about 1/100th the price.
Period.
The only thing the Mercedes G65 can do that my battled up Kia can't is heat my tush with leather heated seats and adjust the windshield wipers automatically to the amount of rain. Oh, and self-tinting windows. Can't forget that. The windows self-tint.
Yet, despite this true pittance of a difference between my car and that of a Winnetka trophy wife's, poor, middle income, and lefties are greener than Kentucky Blue Grass over those stupid enough to buy luxury vehicles. They see a Ferrari drive by and can only come up with "huurrr, compensating for a small penis." I can't tell which is dumber. Blowing $250,000 for transportation that you could get for $3,000 or getting envious over it to the point you make penis jokes and vote to take their money.
2. Planes
Specifically coach vs. first class.
In the grand scheme of things all people aboard the flying aluminum bus should be AMAZED at the technology they're all availing themselves of. You're in a flying beer can, going nearly the speed of sound, which allows you to travel to far away places for a couple hundred dollars, that just a mere century ago was not a possibility for all of human kind.
But instead of marveling at this amazing technology and being thankful to be alive to take advantage of it, you're jealous of the smug looking dude bro in a suit sitting in first class.
Again, the 99%/1% metaphor is lost on most OWS protestors and leftists in general. You are enjoying 99% of what air travel is offering, but you get your leftists tits in a sling over the fact Thadeus up in first class has a little more leg room and free drinks. Perhaps you can get further pissed as he rents a Corvette and you rent a Kia after you land.
3. Homes
I recently rented a boat on Lake Minnetonka to celebrate paying off my house. Lake Minnetonka is home to family fortunes such as the Pillsburies, The Daytons (Target and Dayton Department Stores), Cambria, and Breath Right Nasal Strips (yes, the inventory has a house out there!). The captain of the boat also informed us that a couple of these estates would have Aerosmith and Tim McGraw play on their beaches where boaters could anchor and listen to the band occasionally. And although those veritable mansions were impressive, all I could think of was "that's a lot of vacuuming, dusting and rooms I ain't going to use."
It doesn't matter how many bedrooms, bathrooms, jacuzzi's or guest houses you have on your estate, you can only sleep in one bed at a time, shit in one toilet at a time, and converse with people in one dining room at a time. The rest, in reality, is pointless excess that goes beyond the shelter, comfort and entertainment a house is supposed to provide.
But if we were to have taken your average leftist on my celebratory victory lap around Lake Minnetonka, instead of being in awe of the architecture and beauty of these homes, and instead of questioning more philosophically why a single couple would need an 18 bedroom palace, all they would be able to think of is how much more money these people had than them. All they could think about is how much "nicer" and bigger those mansions were than their simple bungalow in Longfellow. Never mind their simple bungalow or condo provides them heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and a comfortable and adequate place to live. Nope, it's just that "Rat Bourgeoisie Bastard Mark Dayton" has a nicer house than they do.
4. Clothes
Clothes are personal to me because I remember getting in fights in school because I didn't wear Cavaricci jeans or wore France Varnet shirts. I also remember getting into fights because I had Wal-Mart velcro shoes while every other boy had "Nike High Tops." And though I was young, I knew enough to know that these kids were idiots to think the name of a shirt or the brand of some jeans was worth beating some kid up over.
But ohhhhh, how little those people have learned.
Because what was Cavaricci in 1988 is now "LuLuLemon" in 2017.
What was FrancoisMirthBiguard jeans in 1990 is now Jimmy Choo in 2017.
And what was Guess Jeans in 1989 is now DKNY in 2017.
Full grown adults are blowing money not on the clothes or the materials the clothes are made out of. They are blowing money on the stamp, patch, or label that comes with it.
Still, to lesser minds (leftist or not in this case), they cannot help but be envious of somebody with Gucci shoes or Armani shirts when a $10 pair of either from Wal-Mart (or Goodwill) will do the same. Yet, it's only leftists that I see going the complete OPPOSITE/full-retard extreme by wearing hideous clothing, piercing their noses, and tatting up their bodies as if they're protesting beauty as presented to them by richer people. All they're doing is cutting their noses off to spite their face, and their green is all to easy to see.
5. Food
I've told the story before, but I'll tell it again, I was ecstatic when Subway came out with their $5 footlongs. It was in the depths of the recession and every one of my revenue streams was hurting. In college it was bagels and 25 cent "day old bread" from the local subshop that kept me fueled, but as I no longer had to pay tuition and started making my own money "luxuries" like Davini's and Perkins were now within my budget. To this day my friends mock and ridicule me for liking Perkins or the local all you can eat Chinese buffet, but there is nothing wrong with the food a poor or lower-middle income class person can afford to eat.
But again, does the left see what was once the SINGLE LARGEST PROBLEM facing humans for 99.99999% of its 2 million year existence being solved? (that would be hunger by the way). Does the left cheer that OBESITY is now a "bigger" problem than malnutrition or starvation?
Nope.
Once again, all they can see as they're horking down their "lousy" Applebee's shrimp scampi is those rich bourgeoisie bastards eating at high end steak houses and seafood restaurants. All they can see is the 21 year old scotches rich people are drinking as they drink that Cutty Sark "swill." You know what? Those rich people probably have left over mahi tuna steak in their fridges while you have to walk ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STREET to Wal-Mart if you want to eat something at 3AM.
Once again, being envious of somebody who can afford sushi, while all you can afford is Perkins, to the point you're going to "stick it to the man and tax them more," ESPECIALLY in light of humanity's history with hunger, is petty, pathetic, and sad.
and finally...
6. Cell Phones
Oh is the pettiness rich in this one.
Much like petulant little 13 year old girls complain about not having the latest iPhone or android, leftists get their communal tits in the bundle when all they can afford is a previous generation phone or have to resort to a FREAKING PAYMENT PLAN to get the cell phone they want. Never mind there REALLY IS NO DIFFERENCE between the iPhone 943Z and the iPhone 944A. Never mind a Samsung 9 does nothing more than the Samsung 8. Nope, I gotta get me some of datz because rich people have the most recent and up to date phone and "I gotta show them I'm a baller too!" Even if you get a free Obama phone, no doubt you are complaining that those rich, 1%, elitist bastards have nicer phones than you.
You can't even say the technological difference between one generation of phone to the next is a 1% difference. But damnit if the left doesn't get their green thongs in a bundle over it. And the fact that Chip has a nicer phone than Jose is reason enough to vote Sanders and completely revamp the economy into a socialist one.
I could go on highlighting different consumer items both the rich and the poor consume today and the barely perceptible difference in quality between them, but the point is how the left obsesses and hinges its entire confiscatory and parasitic ideology on these petty differences. Thadeus drives a Lexus while Bob drives a Chevy - let's tax Thadeus at 75%. Felix owns a boat while Jim occasionally rents one - let's tax Felix at 80% AND hate him at the same time. And Chip owns a Rolex, while Jerome owns a Quartz. Chip is a 1% bastard, probably racist, AND let's tax him at 90%. But worse than the jealousy is how nearly every leftist lets the fact that other people have more ruin their lives. Certainly there are some leftist and democrats who do no begrudge those that have more. But the majority of them stew in their jealousy which turns into hatred, forcing them to live lives where all they do is obsess about the rich instead of appreciating what they have and getting lives of their own.
Social justice warriors.
Feminists.
Professional activists.
Professors.
Unpaid leftist online journalists.
Nearly every liberal arts major.
How many leftist lives that are wasted envying what others have instead of saying, "WOW! I'm driving a car ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY at 80MPH to see the GRAND CANYON while eating food conveniently located EVERY 20 MILES at gas stations!"? How many leftists are pissed because the government won't pay for their birth control, instead of focusing on the fact that affordable birth control exists? How many leftists live angry, hate-filled lives because somebody has a 10 bedroom, 4 bathroom McMansion, ignoring the fact their modest 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house will more than adequately house them for the rest of their lives?
I always like to look on the bright side of things. And the fact that leftists cannot be happy with the amazing advances and innovations capitalism has put in their green little hands, and choose instead to obsess over the petty and microscopically "better" things the "rich" have to the point it ruins their lives is justice and revenge enough for me. Understand this and understand this well about leftists. They are miserable people who will waste their entire, precious lives being envious of what others have instead of appreciating what they have. And when the day comes that they're on their death bed, all they will have to point to is a life of whining, complaining, hatred, and jealousy.
A worse punishment does not exist.
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45 comments:
Right on. The only historical time when those in power might of had more was the Roman emperors who had slaves to fulfill their every need. But we can live longer, healthier, and happier if we chose to.
The last recession did for me and my lady in our respective businesses.
The things we have lost? Well, I miss one or two badly, but most do not matter. I should guess it helps that before we were comfortable - and we had to work for that - we were poor.
Not long ago, I chatted with a grandchild who, when very young, had been told we were were rich. I gave him a chat which included most of the points you list, Aaron, and I will have him read your post.
Then I told him what I am doing, in the second half of my sixties, to try and restore our fortunes...
Exactly and precisely correct.
Socialism is ALL about envy coupled with greed. And that's not just money and assets. It's power and influence.
So, socialists, leftists, and other collectivists say this: "What's yours is mine (including your life) and what's mine is mine."
They literally take, by force of government, what does not belong to them.
There are two big ones that seems legitimate that are unmentioned, both in your post, and often leftist rhetoric.
On average, poor people exhibit behaviors that are unpleasant for others in their company or vicinity. This includes general sloppiness and laziness at best, and at worst, violent and dangerous behavior. All of these behaviors can be attributed to their focus on immediate gratification, and for the malevolent among them, their gratification is often derived from the misery they cause others.
If you're poor, you can't get away from other poor people. A shabby house might functionally perform comparably to a nice one, but the neighborhood matters.
Neighborhood extends to public education, as schools with the children of the poor are insufferable, as they are populated with children whose conduct prevents the learning of others. While a dedicated student can learn from any teacher or from any book, the orcs in the room will inevitably get in the way.
Money can buy peace by taking you away from other poor people.
I've had the same thoughts on occasion. You're spot on my friend.
There's a reason the Catholic Church calls envy a deadly sin. (Pride and Anger are as well). They are poisonous, and SJW's use them as a tool.
That said, Cars? You can enjoy all those high end features the the European luxury cars have in a mid/high end Toyota, Nissan, or Honda, without the cost of maintenance. I find it ironic that someone would look down upon a driver of a lexus, yet nod in approval for a tesla, which we the taxpayers subsidize.
Planes? That dudebro may be spending coin for first class, but old Bob there, like me, flies a ton for work and is rewarded with first class upgrades. It's called taking care of your steady customers.
They never realize that it's an unending cycle. I have well-to-do friends. You know why they have a Mercedes, big house, nice clothes, travel well? It's called taxes. If they simply put that money in the bank, it would have the crap taxed out of it. Better to give it up for a nice car, or nice house than simply hand it over to Uncle Sammy to waste.
They also don't appreciate that the reason there are nice roads, decent schools (some), Fire, police, trash pickup is that those people they envy pay wads of dough in tax.
Cappy, you are channeling Henry Hazlitt (that's not a bad thing):
“The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects - his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity.”
― Henry Hazlitt
https://www.cnet.com/news/marissa-mayer-reportedly-wants-another-ceo-job/
All good points Captain.
I'm waiting for the next leftist outrage. It will probably be how potable water, wastewater treatment, and electricity 24/7 is some sort of White European male conspiracy to implement oppression and patriarchy. And it's 'da rasis' as well.
Great post Cappy. Reminds me of your post stating living well and making something of your life is the best revenge against leftists.
It's not just the Left.
When I started my career things were tough sort of like now and similar things were happening. When I asked a guy I worked with why people were being so petty he said - jealousy. Literally up until the last five years I did not believe in such a simple explanation.
For me I wanted to be stable, but while I felt I would never get a Ferrari - I love the hell out of seeing them. Even if I had the money - I'm not sure I'd want one due to all of the obligations. I don't hate people who do. If they didn't exist - I would literally never get to experience seeing such things. Rich people make the world funner. Even for those who of us who aren't as rich. Let them take all the hassle and I get my momentary fun. It's enough for me.
I think I've started to realize that people are just petty. Because if they knew all the things that being super rich involved they just wouldn't do it. For some reason people would rather that things just don't exist because they don't have the ability to get them. And that is just pettiness.
Affectionately,
snarkolepsy
I never have been jealous of anyone's wealth. I grew up with a few "rich" kids who's parents were doctors, lawyers (before everyone decided to get a law degree and flood the market), and business owners. I was never envious of them, because these families also had some the same problems my family (we were very middle middle class) had, even with all that money. Just made me appreciate more of what I had and have today, which is my health and a healthy family.
My wife and I are paying the mortgage on a very modest house, we could've bought a bigger home, but didn't (we like to take vacations, and we know families who have humongous homes who do staycations). We purchased new cars a few years ago, but we usually keep the cars 10+ years, until something major needs to be replaced like a transmission. I still have clothing from 20 years ago that I can fit into (losing 20 lbs helps), and still wear. My cell phone, I'll keep until it dies, like the last one did at year 6. I never had the attitude that I needed to "keep up with the Jone's" in regards to having possessions. I really don't GAS about other people and what they "have", because you ain't taking it with you when you're pushing up daisies. Because I know that my only true legacy in my life is our kids, and making sure they grow up to be decent human beings.
Oh, and all the leftists I live near and have to endure at work, still suck. Deep down I know they hate me, because of who I am. Well I hate them too, feeling is mutual. Don't ever think a leftist is your friend, they are not. Treat all leftists as your enemy, because they are your enemy.
Cappy, smart guy you know this one already. The Left is not about rich vs poor, they are into 'class' which can be defined as anything. But to mask that over they use the objects of the rich to demonize same. Same tactic they have about guns. Its never about the perp that used the gun, its about the gun which is really nothing.
By the way, here is a validation of your high IQ book -- http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/29/update-not-being-stupid-is-cognitive-privilege-now-which-is-just-like-white-privilege/
Being smart is now a class issue of privilege.
I could never understand the "Logo Slaves".
This is not just "the left", but of human nature. "Things" are not so much a entitlement for some as they are a display of power to keep from being screwed over. All the time, they are being screwed over.
When I was in my 20s, I worked at a country club. Being in the South, majority there were very conservative. There were people in huge debt with a 15 bedroom McMansion with furniture in maybe 5 of those rooms so they could hobnob with folks richer than themselves to hopefully ingratiate into more powerful positions. Of course, successful folks only want to hang around other successful folks so showing up with Wally World clothes and an old beat up pick up truck would not do. It displayed weakness. It displayed working class background which was a deathnell. When you appear broke, these guys may try to screw you.
And yes, it is miserable. A lot of the guys that do that lifestyle end up with strokes and stuff from all the stress. Even a nice salary like 80k in the South (or triple that in places like LA or NY) does not go for with thousands in clothes, 3 luxury cars, huge mortgage, "must have" parties to network with your "friends" at the club house, etc. I remember waiting on quite a few couples staring at the floor complaining about everything, mean to the staff, complaining about debt.
Of course, for the working man, even this lifestyle is out of reach. Few employers pay enough even for this outside of highly skilled trades and a third of a lifetime of contacts and experience, short of inheriting a small fortune.
My mother's family left the eastern part of Germany before the Russians arrived. Her family eventually ended up in Canada and had a prosperous life.
After the wall came down, she and her sister went back to visit family and friends who had remained behind in what became East Germany.
While some people were very happy with the changes that had taken place, most were less happy - in East Germany everyone was poor, after the wall came down, some people through their own initiative became more wealthy.
Even though materially everyone was better off than they ever had been the difference bothered them more than the poverty.
If you were less well off it was because you didn't work as hard as someone else, you couldn't blame it on the system.
Many good points in this article.
I, myself, am happy and grateful that the leftists are both perpetually psychotic and permanently pissed off.
It's almost like leftism is some sort of mental disease.
Oh well, as long as it's not my problem.
The great point of your article is that you bring out the true spirit of leftists. They like to harp on their great compassion and what enlightened beings they are, yet all they believe in is based on envy and hate.
What's funny about you talking about the leftists wanting to place a 90% tax the top 1% because the guy has a Ferrari, a pricey Rolex, and the latest, greatest smartphone - only to find out that they are taxing more of the middle class pretending to be rich.
I've met some humble, real-chill rich folks who do not flash their cash or wealth openly. You didn't even know that they were RICH in the first place because they were t-shirt, jeans type people.
Better to go under the radar rather than be a beacon of air raids.
One of the things that drives this jealousy is laziness.
The truth is, most of the people who have these 'nicer' things, earned them. They worked harder and made more sacrifices. And the SJW mentality does not possess the discipline to live this way. And since they can't find a way to be happy with what they've got, they need to malign others and steal from them.
30+ years ago I was fortunate enough to have a mentor who would occasionally ask what I wanted in life. I offered up the usual desire to be a millionaire crap. He'd say, "That's great! What would you do with the millions?" After hemming and hawing a bunch of times, he told me to make a list of all the things I wanted to do with the money. He looked at the list and said, "Looks like about $100,000 will cover your list. (It was 35 years ago.) You may want to take it easy and enjoy life."
He was right.
When you close your eyes at night, you are unable to see how many rooms your home has, nor what's parked in the garage. If you have peace, you have it all.
Unfortunately, I think this is a built in feature for a majority of humans.
I read about a study once (too lazy to look it up but feel free)...basically they asked the following question:
Would you rather make $150,000 per year while your next door neighbor makes $200k per year?
OR would you rather make $200k per year while your neighbor makes $400k per year
Some large majority (I think it was around 80%) choose the first option!! Even though the second option increases YOUR OWN INCOME by 33% up to $200k. Most people couldn't stand to see their neighbor make twice as much.
How fucked up is that??? People will forgo extrm money if someone else is making more. There is your explanation right there - some kind of intrinsic envy that a large portion of humanity possesses.
Another point of irony is that some of the folks who spend lots of money on the things mentioned in the article aren't actually rich, they're just "$30-thousand-aires." They bought all that expensive stuff with even more expensive loans and lines of credit.
What kind of phone last 3 years? Every phone I buy lasts 1 year if I'm lucky. And I have always bought cases that protect them.
"Socialism a Philosophy of Failure", Laughlin, J.L., Scribner's magazine, 1909
"Throughout socialistic literature there is the well-known insistence upon the materialistic interpretation of history - a conception based upon a hunger for things of material enjoyment, and for more and more of them. Fundamentally, they have as much centered their aim on an increase in material possessions as the veriest Napoleon of finance in Wall Street. An existence in which the acquisition of more material wealth is of very large - if not of chief - importance is in the thoughts of both. The ends sought for by the socialists are not, in effect, different from those of the mass of non-socialists who are striving to acquire wealth in order to have ease and leisure for enjoyment. Agreeing in their aims, their differences - which seem to most persons to place them as wide apart as the poles - really consist in choosing different means of accomplishing their ends. The ordinary hustler for wealth, without or within the stock market, may have no definite moral restraint except the fear of the law (in fact, he may even contrive to escape the law), and he accepts existing institutions; but he plans to gain his end, if honest, by productive processes and trade; or, if dishonest, by a thousand ingenious ways of transferring to himself the wealth created by others. On the other hand, the socialist proposes to overturn industrial competition and the institution of private property in the hope - vaguely outlined and not economically analyzed - of transferring the use of wealth from those who have to those who have not." p613-614
http://www.archive.org/stream/scribnersmagazi25logagoog#page/n634/mode/2up
intentionally or unintentionally, you just listed the key to happiness. Happiness doesn't come easy for me so it is something I have to work on.
Every morning as the car idles up, I list 5 good things in my life, no matter how small. Every evening I list 5 good things that happened during the day. It's usually just little stupid things.
Some people just don't want to be happy, or have given up trying.
The pursuit of happiness is right there in the founding documents. People have been struggling with this from the beginning of time. And notice that it does not say you will actually find happiness, just that you should be free to pursue it as you see fit.
All this only reflects commodities or stuff - nothing about spirituality or compassion for another.
poor hard working marginalised people are disadvantaged to the status quo white race.
there is enough to share and less of class war.
I lived in the Twin Cities in the 70s and bought my first house there. I remembered the joy I felt after moving into this little 2 BR bungalow in St. Louis Park, the front lawn and the back yard that I now had to mow, the leaves I had to rake in the fall, and of course, the tons of snow that I had to shovel in the winter (well, maybe not that), but it was the greatest moment of my life to date compared to the cramped apartment in which I grew up in NYC.
And I remember going out to Wayzata to the "beach" on Lake Minnetonka and being grateful to be able to eat at Chouette (the fancy French restaurant there at the time). Life was, and still has been forty years later, good to me.
"Much like petulant little 13 year old girls..."
I was an excellent column, all of it worth reading, but really those eight words capture everything necessary. If you realize that Leftists are basically middle-school girls, then their behavior makes sense. The popular ones think everyone owes them everything, and the unpopular ones think everybody owes them everything too but are more bitter about it.
No sane person would want to live in a society run by middle school girls. No sane person should let Leftists have any say in society either.
You can also add a #7: Increased life expectancy.
Today we are living longer than ever before. In the last 50-60 years humans experienced the greatest rise in life expectancy than at any point in human existence. Thanks to better health care, technological advances and having enough to eat, the average person in the U.S. Can expect to live until they are 80. Of course the downside of longer living is that it puts a financial strain on Social Security and public pensions as well as having to plan for a longer retirement.
One hundred years ago, the average person was lucky enough to live until they were 55-60 years old. Now that we are living longer, that means leftists can complain about the doctors and research scientists making too much money instead of thanking them for coming up with the drugs and life saving techniques that enable us to live longer.
Don't forget that every top of the line car that drives by, every ostentatious house you pass, every yacht, manicured garden plot, etc., etc., owned by the rich put thousands of dollars in to the pockets of the working man.
I have to disagree Cappy, the material things that you list may be what the left is envious of on the surface, but in reality they envy the power of the rich to attract cute girls - essentially the ability to reproduce. The cell phones and large homes are largely the maintenance costs of maintaing the lifestyle of attractive mating partners. The left wrongly assumes the it is the car itself rather than the man that attracts young fertile women. Essentially, it is am exestential fear of being bred out of existence.
Excellent post Cappy - Most people have no knowledge of history and are too stupid to realize how well off they are compared to even 50 years ago. I had an idea for another profitable venture you might start: Start a " Frugal Bachelors Blog" that discusses ways to save money. Posters could read about how to save money and ask for advice from perceived experts. Charge a small fee for access and rely on volume to generate income.
Here are my two savings tips for the day:
Buy a cheap but reliable watch instead of a pricey monstrosity. For the last 37 years I have worn a Timex watch. I get over 10 years from a watch, then buy another at Walmart for 40 or 50 bucks. My Timex Easy Reader is tough, easy to read, gives time, day, and date, and lights up by pressing a button. By contrast, a Fucking Rolex has to be cleaned and lubricated every few years to maintain the warranty. This operation costs about 200 bucks and has to be done by the dealer.
I have used a prepaid Tracfone for 15 years now. I carry a simple flip phone and add time to the phone with access cards sold online and in every convenience store. Total phone cost about $240 per year. I get about 2 years out of a Tracfone flip phone, then buy another for 30 bucks. Tracfone customer service is non existant, since they outsourced it to an overseas call center. Most Tracfone problems can be fixed by going to their website. Avoid the no english " customer service" The even offer smart phones but the operating cost is higher. Why bother with prepaid? I have no contract and can change carriers today if they start messing up.
One difference between the filthy rich and the not is that the filthy rich don't have to work.
I am now retired and don't have to work and let me tell you it is fucking awesome.
I used to think my job provided my identity and satisfaction. Not anymore.
Of course my son doesn't work either and he thinks that's fucking awesome, too.
If the rich would confine themselves to just being rich and flaunting their wealth in consumerist and lifestyle domains, I wouldn't have any problem with them at all. I don't care about their stuff.
But that is not enough for them. They insist on involving themselves directly in other people's lives through politics. It is undeniable that all politics is force. And since all politics is force, they use force to loot me in innumerable ways, to force me to buy products, to create and control the systems which they use to threaten me, control me and further their looting and other despicable activities like war. If they were capable of leaving me alone, that would be one thing. But they are not.
When you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say, "Live and let live." But in this ever changing world in which we live in makes you give it a try, say "Live and let die."
All of that said, this is a old discussion which is worth having from time to time. Dissatisfaction is a fundamental human trait. If we were satisfied with the way things were, we wouldn't have built any of this stuff. So being alive and human, dissatisfaction leads to nearly constant unhappiness.
How do I get what I want? I can make it for myself, or take it from someone who already has it.
Eventually, if I am paying attention, I can see my own constant dissatisfaction as the real barrier to happiness, and I can learn to be happy with what I already have and the way things are. As it turns out, happiness is something you carry around with you every day, you just have to learn how to remember it's there.
This would be easier of course if politicians, bought by rich people who can't be satisfied with anything ever, weren't constantly robbing me, threatening me, enslaving me.
The only thing I would say about the "uber rich" what have you is sick of corporate welfare(all welfare actually)and am sick of the bailing out of companies/banks due to this,end this madness of making private the profits but making public the losses,just end the bullshoit regs. ect. that stand in the way of the small person getting started,there are 1000's(more?) examples of how the system is rigged,level the playing field and get out of the way as folks get productive!
On a side note,have driven a Ferrari and while great fun working on them too much of a pain in the ass!Give me a Pantera any day,Italian body with basic high performance running gear a shade tree mechanic like me can work on!
It's not having what you want, it's prizing what you have. [HT: Cheryl Crowe]
I think the left's big talking point at the moment beyond simple class envy (the first actual commodity they talk about) is healthcare, not cars and phones.
Plenty of lefty people lead relatively simple lives in the manner you speak of, it's a point of pride for many cause carbon footprint and such.
Speaking of boats, remember that asinine luxury tax Congress passed in the early 90's? It ended up employing thousands of blue collar people who built boats and other luxury items. The wealthy simply went elsewhere. This shows how out of touch leftist are to the real world.
If you can't stand pbs, google 'us luxury tax boats'.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/government_programs-jan-june96-budget_01-01/
Envy is an obsession of Europeans and was the bedrock ideology that led to communism, fascism, and Nazism including the Holocaust. (If the average Jew was perceived to be poor it would not have happened.)
Unfortunately it can happen here.
Notice the shift from concern about "the poor" to "inequality."
It's a "mission" with no solution. Poverty cam in theory be eliminated. "Inequality" can never be eliminated, outside of prisons or North Korea.
WALMART has not had a hyphen in it for 10 years.
A friend has a journal that was maintained by his grandfather, a country doctor in rural Virginia some number of years ago. He read the journal when it came down to him.
We discussed it at some length. He said that the most amazing thing was the sheer number of people that died over the simplest things, up to and including an infection acquired from a small cut. And many of those that died were very young. There was just nothing that could be done about simple ailments that rapidly blossomed into fatal issues.
I count my blessings every day. I am happy.
To anonymous 4:29: So-what?
People don't care about the size of a house or the car model, what they do care about is the ease of paying for an average house and how long they will have to commute to their jobs or entertainment. The situation now around most of the western word is that it is very hard for the average person to buy their own house or apartment, much more difficult than to our parents. The other main concern is the location of said house, the middle class can't afford a house in the nice places. That's why people are jealous.
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