Total wealth since 1989

[Hards Alumni]

You know gang, rather than whining about the rich getting richer, why not focus on how to make the middle class more affluent?

Taxes aint the answer, gang. Transfer payments aint the answer. If they were, Chicago would be nirvana!

Look, it will take investment for communities and people to succeed. It also takes personal sacrifice and a willingness to set and attain a goal. Government can help by encouraging investment in low and moderate income communities, but the communities have to take action on their own. That's why I admire Father Flager in Chicago. I don't always agree with his politics but his campaigning against guns, drugs, liquor stores and the lottery among other things and his sense that everyone has worth is just doing God's work. And if it was emulated, it would go a long way toward positive change!

I don't begrudge anyone whose innovation, creativity and brilliance made her lots of money. Lots more than I'll ever see or dream of. Rather, I'd work to encourage investment and opportunity! Look what Amazon has done for many communities in the United States!

We've tried your way most of my life, and look at the results.

The real problem with the average US citizen is that they think they have a path to becoming super wealthy.  It's truly the big lie that we're told from a young age.  "Just work really hard and you'll end up rich!"  If only it were that easy.

Also, Amazon is a rot on this country.  Amazon is what Walmart was in the early 2000s on steroids.  They need to be broken up along with half a dozen other large corporations and media conglomerates.

[lawdog77]

Bottom line: Building wealth requires investment and ingenuity.

And sweeping the countless unlawful business practices under the table. Small business cannot afford to do these things. I don't think there is enough bandwith to list all of the bad stuff Walmart has done.

Here's a start though :
https://www.corp-research.org/wal-mart

[Hards Alumni]

And sweeping the countless unlawful business practices under the table. Small business cannot afford to do these things. I don't think there is enough bandwith to list all of the bad stuff Walmart has done.

Here's a start though :
https://www.corp-research.org/wal-mart

Not to mention building actual wealth (not a reasonable living) requires wealth to begin with.

[Uncle Rico]

Not to mention building actual wealth (not a reasonable living) requires wealth to begin with.

Jesus would probably manage a Walmart

[Goose]

Hards

We have worked with countless startups that have utilized the Amazon platform and done so with various degrees of success. That said, we have several clients that have done off the charts well and it gives me great satisfaction being part of their sucess. The American Dream is alive and well, just a little more difficult navigated the water.

[Hards Alumni]

Hards

We have worked with countless startups that have utilized the Amazon platform and done so with various degrees of success. That said, we have several clients that have done off the charts well and it gives me great satisfaction being part of their sucess. The American Dream is alive and well, just a little more difficult navigated the water.

I suggest you look into Amazon's practices then.  They routinely sell a vendor's product and then offer to buy them out if they're selling well.  If the vendor refuses Amazon makes a cheaper version of the product and bites into the original vendor's profits to the extent that their business becomes untenable.

For every success story, there are many like this that people never hear about.

Here is a success story, but with hurdles having to be jumped through... that were put in place by Amazon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxWGjQ2szQ

I own products from Peak Design (Highly recommend anything they make if you're interested in quality products) but Amazon tried to do them dirty.... And they're certainly not alone.

[Goose]

Hards

Selling on Amazon for a small company is not a piece of cake and the number that fail dwarf the success stories, no argument there. We have client that has followed the Amazon model of buying out successful brands and have created an unreal company and made dozens of small owners quite wealthy. This firm is run by very smart folks, well funded and have seen great success. There are plenty of success stories out there, most not reported on.

[Hards Alumni]

Hards

Selling on Amazon for a small company is not a piece of cake and the number that fail dwarf the success stories, no argument there. We have client that has followed the Amazon model of buying out successful brands and have created an unreal company and made dozens of small owners quite wealthy. This firm is run by very smart folks, well funded and have seen great success. There are plenty of success stories out there, most not reported on.

Ah, so they're just an investment firm.

[Goose]

Hards

They are a group of guys that started a brand and had success on Amazon and felt their best path to growth/profits was to acquire other smaller brands. All acquired brands are run under one umbrella by a really smart group of people. If you are asking if it is a PE group, the answer would be no.

[JWags85]

Ah, so they're just an investment firm.

Every company that expands by acquisition or growing their portfolio is an investment firm?

For all the predatory aspects of Amazon as a selling platform, I will say that their AWS offering has been a god send for many smaller companies and changed the server/computing game for the better.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Jesus would probably manage a Walmart

Badly. He'd be giving away all the crap to poor people for free.

[JWags85]

Badly. He'd be giving away all the crap to poor people for free.

I mean, Walmart sells a bunch of crap to poor people for nearly free, so close.

[Pakuni]

I mean, Walmart sells a bunch of crap to poor people for nearly free, so close.

What would Jesus charge for loaves and fishes?

[cheebs09]

What would Jesus charge for loaves and fishes?

He’d certainly help with supply shortages.

[jesmu84]

Putting the ails of the bottom 50% on individuals is such a crock of crap.

"Personal sacrifice"? Gtfo

Government needs to do more anti-monopoly/trust enforcement. More labor support.

Individuals at the top of the pyramid aren't "sacrificing" and didn't sacrifice to get there. They are, however, using their money and power to influence the world to increase both. We need countervailing structures in place. Which, again, doesn't come from any individual at the bottom.

Would anyone be upset if we returned to an economic mindset of the Roosevelt era? The following decades seemed pretty solid for most, economically.

[Uncle Rico]

I mean, Walmart sells a bunch of crap to poor people for nearly free, so close.

Matches their pay scales.

Having done business with them through the years, as much of a financial behemoth they are, they sure leave a lot of money on the table with out of stocks (not supply chain related) and insufficient staffing (not silent quitting related).

[Goose]

Rico

It is funny but I say on a weekly basis on how much money has been left on the table by companies outsourcing to SE Asia. I have been doing this line of work for over thirty years and I am amazed on the money left in China, Vietnam, etc. by major companies. I wish I could do a study on this and accurately give numbers.

[dgies9156]

We've tried your way most of my life, and look at the results.

The real problem with the average US citizen is that they think they have a path to becoming super wealthy.  It's truly the big lie that we're told from a young age.  "Just work really hard and you'll end up rich!"  If only it were that easy.

Also, Amazon is a rot on this country.  Amazon is what Walmart was in the early 2000s on steroids.  They need to be broken up along with half a dozen other large corporations and media conglomerates.

The results: The United States has built a society others in the world look up to. For heaven's sake, the fact that 2.0 million-plus people a year would risk life and limb to cross our border from the south (forget your politics and mine for a moment) speaks volumes to what we have built in this country, as is.

Define "super wealthy'. Nobody ever told me I'd be Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Jeff Bezos just because I was born American or born into a middle class family. If somebody told you that, then I'm sorry to hear it. What I was told was, "in life, there are no guarantees." But our best chances came if we worked hard, prepared, sacrificed and did the best we could. The other good advice I received was, "obey the law" and, "USE YOUR HEAD -- THINK IT OUT!!!"

Candidly, this "freakin boomer" thinks too much of our Millennials and the Gen Zers are too self-absorbed. Maybe it is us Boomers' fault for the way we raised our children, but there seems to be a sense that if I have something, you should get the same thing. Period. In our case, our children came "late" in our lives, in our late 30s and early 40s. They never saw the struggles and sacrifice my wife and I made for our future. They are going through those same struggles now and missed the example.

Of course, our parents said the same thing about we "freakin boomers" a generation ago!

Brother Jesmu: I'm not sure I agree with you. Bill Gates is a smart guy who developed operating systems that made the computer we type on possible. Did he sacrifice, heck I don't know. But he used his ingenuity to get where he is today. Why punish success?

I can speak for myself. We saved. We lived hand-to-mouth for longer than I want to remember. You didn't see a BMW or Porsche in our driveway and we did what we had to do so that when the bad times came (there were more than I want to remember there too!), we survived. When I was a reporter, I'd go into union halls and get harassed for being a "college boy," who made less than the guys on the line. I prepared and they didn't. Results speak for themselves!

My point is that yeah, I worked hard, took advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves and, in more than a few cases, put my views about things on the back burner and listened. That mattered and while I'm not Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, I'm not fussing about my life or screaming because otheres have what I do not.

[Hards Alumni]

Every company that expands by acquisition or growing their portfolio is an investment firm?

For all the predatory aspects of Amazon as a selling platform, I will say that their AWS offering has been a god send for many smaller companies and changed the server/computing game for the better.

I don't disagree, but spin it off.

[Uncle Rico]

Rico

It is funny but I say on a weekly basis on how much money has been left on the table by companies outsourcing to SE Asia. I have been doing this line of work for over thirty years and I am amazed on the money left in China, Vietnam, etc. by major companies. I wish I could do a study on this and accurately give numbers.

It would be staggering, I’m sure.  The short term profit loss to proper inventory levels and staffing would benefit them long term.  A lot of retail management bonuses are structured around hourly pay and inventory and that’s a part of the problem.  Still, when I’d walk through Wal-Marts or even Targets, the out of stocks would make shopping them on a regular basis a headache for me.  I know the thought processes are different for those looking to get by, so I understand they’ll buy something.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Jesmu84 and hards and their economic takes make me laugh.

[Goose]

Ziggy

I love their take because it highlights to me just how big of opportunities are still out there. The more guys that think the dream is over, the better for the guys chasing the dream. Until the day I die, I am going to be chasing the American Dream and doing so with excitement.

[Spotcheck Billy]

It would be staggering, I’m sure.  The short term profit loss to proper inventory levels and staffing would benefit them long term.  A lot of retail management bonuses are structured around hourly pay and inventory and that’s a part of the problem.  Still, when I’d walk through Wal-Marts or even Targets, the out of stocks would make shopping them on a regular basis a headache for me.  I know the thought processes are different for those looking to get by, so I understand they’ll buy something.

did someone steal your log-in?

[Goose]

dgies

Another spot on post. I once again agree with every word in the post.

[Hards Alumni]

The results: The United States has built a society others in the world look up to. For heaven's sake, the fact that 2.0 million-plus people a year would risk life and limb to cross our border from the south (forget your politics and mine for a moment) speaks volumes to what we have built in this country, as is.

Define "super wealthy'. Nobody ever told me I'd be Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Jeff Bezos just because I was born American or born into a middle class family. If somebody told you that, then I'm sorry to hear it. What I was told was, "in life, there are no guarantees." But our best chances came if we worked hard, prepared, sacrificed and did the best we could. The other good advice I received was, "obey the law" and, "USE YOUR HEAD -- THINK IT OUT!!!"

Candidly, this "freakin boomer" thinks too much of our Millennials and the Gen Zers are too self-absorbed. Maybe it is us Boomers' fault for the way we raised our children, but there seems to be a sense that if I have something, you should get the same thing. Period. In our case, our children came "late" in our lives, in our late 30s and early 40s. They never saw the struggles and sacrifice my wife and I made for our future. They are going through those same struggles now and missed the example.

Of course, our parents said the same thing about we "freakin boomers" a generation ago!

Brother Jesmu: I'm not sure I agree with you. Bill Gates is a smart guy who developed operating systems that made the computer we type on possible. Did he sacrifice, heck I don't know. But he used his ingenuity to get where he is today. Why punish success?

I can speak for myself. We saved. We lived hand-to-mouth for longer than I want to remember. You didn't see a BMW or Porsche in our driveway and we did what we had to do so that when the bad times came (there were more than I want to remember there too!), we survived. When I was a reporter, I'd go into union halls and get harassed for being a "college boy," who made less than the guys on the line. I prepared and they didn't. Results speak for themselves!

My point is that yeah, I worked hard, took advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves and, in more than a few cases, put my views about things on the back burner and listened. That mattered and while I'm not Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, I'm not fussing about my life or screaming because otheres have what I do not.

We don't have a society that the world looks up to.  That is American Exceptionalism, and it is a lie.  We get 2 million immigrants from the South border annually partially because we have had a large hand in destabilizing their countries for decades.  They're coming to America not for the American Dream, they're just trying to not get murdered. 

You know why we're #1 on the world stage, and probably will be for a long time?  We are uninvadeable, have global military power, and control the global shipping lanes.  For a long time this was the UK.  But they lost their empire.  We don't have an empire to lose, but we can implode.  Best way to do that is to continue lining the pockets of the super wealthy.  The wealth gap in the US increases every year.  From 1983 to 2016, the share of aggregate wealth going to upper-income families increased from 60% to 79%  Those were the years that millennials were children... your generations hay day.  A generation of union destruction, minimum wage stagnation, and globalization are surely to blame, but who put those policies in place? 

Super wealthy?  You're not it.  I'm not it.  No one on this board is super wealthy.  No one told me that I'd get to be those guys because I'm an American.  Hell, I'm not sure how you are misunderstanding my quote.  And the super wealthy?  We don't need them.  Billionaires should not exist.  The accumulation of that much wealth is morally deplorable.  I'm sure most of these neo-aristocrats could easily thrive below the billionaire line.

Hilarious commentary on the youth of the nation.  Your generation is the "GOT MINE, GET BENT" generation.  You're passing us down a world that is falling apart after having been privy to the most successful stretch of time globally.  Are you guys to blame for everything?  Nah, but you're generation has been in charge now for a few decades and again, the results are pretty rough.  Furthermore, have you been on Facebook recently?  That place is loaded with self-absorbed boomers who can't tell reality from fantasy.

As to your last two points, good for you.  That's the story of everyone.  We all go through hard times and easy ones, but shouldn't our society do better than we are and take care of the basic needs of it's citizens?  We can certainly afford it.  Other countries do it and aren't bankrupt.  Frankly, I don't whine about not 'getting mine or not having what others have.  Life is like that.  I just fundamentally believe that our wealth gap in the US is the only reason we fail as a country.  Continuing on the path of the last four decades will make this problem worse.  I just want everyone else to be able to succeed, and not live in a world where 60% of people are living paycheck to paycheck.

Try to not kick the ladder out from beneath you on your way to the top dg, you've had a lot more advantages on your way up than most.