Wealth Gap

The wealth gap has been a recent conversation topic.  There are statistics on the topic.  There are documentaries on the topic. There are social media posts and more.  I say F*ck the wealth gap.  In the U.S. there have been targeted efforts to keep Black Americans and minorities at a disadvantage.  Even though this is true, at this point I feel the conversation surrounding the wealth gap is to get viewers, get likes on social media and get emotions going.  I watched a Netflix special on the wealth cap that made me upset even though I already knew the information.  It’s important to know history but now it’s time for us to learn how to grow our assets and f*ck the conversation about the wealth gap.  

The internet has given us the opportunity to grow wealth far beyond any other time in history.  All the financial information that we could ask for is at our fingertips.  All we have to do is pull out our phones and start learning.  The barriers to being a business owner have diminished with the internet.  We can buy stocks with no fees.  We can now buy fractional shares at no cost (this will be explained in detail in another post).  What we all have wanted and needed is equality and access.  Although we still do not have complete equality or access, the internet has given us access to the world. Let’s use this access to our benefit.  

Let’s forget about the gap and work on growing ourselves.  If Jay Z, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk becomes a trillionaire how does that affect you today?  If either of them were to become broke how would that affect you today? The gap between them and the rest of the world is huge but they do not change how I live my life or invest.  For me the gap is not the issue, it’s having the access and the ability to succeed without being pushed down.  Someone else having more money or wealth than you do doesn’t impact your daily life.  If you are reading this you likely have more assets or income than someone else not reading this.  There is still an enormous number of people in America without access to the internet.  There are kids and adults without computers, smartphones, data plans or internet access at home.  You have a wealth gap over them.

Let’s put into perspective the opportunities we have.  Let’s be realistic about how much effort we actually put into learning about money.  I’m not talking about taking stock tips from social media and trying to find $1 stocks that some day will be $500.  Making more money doesn’t mean you will have more wealth.  Many high income earners also have high debt burdens.  If you want to grow wealth and close the gap you have to start the right behavior today.  You can’t expect to have $10,000,000 tomorrow and then suddenly have the right behavior to keep it and grow it.  Let’s not concentrate too much on what we can’t control.  Don’t concentrate on the wealth gap. Let’s start learning about money to avoid being Broke and Clueless.