Why is it that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor?

Question

Have you ever noticed? i believe Mark twain made that quote... But why? What, in your opinion makes it that way...

Answer 1

You say that as if wealth is what we should all be aiming to achieve.
What about those who are rich in love? I know that most poor and rich alike are rich in love.
What about those who are rich in happiness? Just because people are poor definately doesn't mean that they aren't happy!
Aren't these what we should be aiming to achieve? A life rich in love and happiness?

In this case those with a life lacking happiness and love often do make a change and become "rich." Just as those who are rich in happiness and love can experience something that may result in them lacking happiness and love. However we can always make changes to our lives that determine the level of happiness or love that we have at one time can't we?

Therefore I don't really agree with this quote at all.. Money doesn't equal happiness and love, the level of money that you have doesn't make you better or worse..so why use this quote as if stating that the rich are luckier or living better lives than the poor?

Answer 2

Here is the big surprise answer you have been waiting for: The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor simply because THE PEOPLE let them.

Folks, I had to write "the people" there because I did not want to insult anyone by saying "we". But the fact is, in America these days, if I'm not rich, I am likely struggling to make ends meet.

I hate to say this but there are far more "poor" these days than anyone cares to talk about. 49 million people in this country cannot afford health care. 60% of the people claim that they are "just making ends meet." Bankruptcies are higher than they have been in over half a century and still people have trouble seeing that the reason for all of this is because the rich have created a system that keeps them rich and keeps the rest of us struggling, just making ends meet, hypnotized by television and unable to unite.

Folks -- the rich stay rich because they have rigged the system, because they have made us stupid and because we let them.

I just read a question on answers in which someone just asked what they could do because they are bored -- dozens and dozens of people actually took the time to ANSWER! How stupid can you be for asking such a question and how stupid must you be to answer such a question?

I am so delighted to see a question here that actually means something: Why is it that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor?

No better question will be written today at answers.

Do not just read that question and go on to the next one.

Read that question and ask yourself: Why are there almost 50 million people without health insurance?

Why can the Administration give almost half a trillion dollars to his cronies in the war biz and yet he vetoed chipp??! Which cost almost nothing.

What?

Yeah, the rich stay rich because we are distracted.

I don't mean to sound critical of us. I'm distracted too. I'm beaten down by it all as well. I am dismayed.

Answer 3

You are only as poor as you chose to be, for what I see. there is a lot of procrastination, and lack of drive, The rich, well, some are born that way, and some are ambitious and hardworking. I honestly don't get your question, Are you poor?
because only a poor person would ask this question, a rich one would be working or making plans to be or stay rich.
Do not confuse comfort with happiness.
Do not confuse wealth with success.

Answer 4

there is a reason why the rich are rich and the poor are poor. if you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among all people, eventually the people who are rich now would be rich again and the poor would be poor again. if you devote your life to becoming wealthly, you will. it will take all your free time and then some. that's how some people have done it. i, myself, enjoy my free time too much to give any of it up. that's why i'm not wealthy, but i am very happy.

Answer 5

It is called Capitalism. If you have capital, you will make money with your money. The money does the work. If you have to work for a living, you are working for someone that has capital and they are paying you less than your work is worth. If they are paying you more than your work is worth they will soon run out of capital and join you on the work line. The poor, by definition, have no capital and must convince someone that something they can do is worth being paid. That is called having a job. The people with the capital give large amounts of it to the people who make our laws. They are called lobbists. The people who make the laws make sure that the people with the capital get to keep most of it. The government then taxes the working people while making sure that the corporations (capitalists) pay as little as possible. This system assures that you must be very, very, lucky to break out of the working class. That is why, today, both mommy and daddy have to keep a job so you can ask questions on the internet.

Answer 6

It's a matter of financial education. The rich know how to generate and maintain wealth, so they continue to remain rich. Poor tend to make bad financial decisions (wasting money on lottery tickets and get rich quick schemes, failing to save and invest etc) and so tend to stay poor. I've read studies where low to mid income families hit the lottery, become "rich," then squander the money away in a few years. One can see the same phenomenon w/ pro athletes. Mike Tyson earned $300 million, and a few years later, had a net worth of $5000.

Answer 7

That is the law of mankind. There is another quote: it takes money to make money. As a class, these are true; for an individual, ONE person can become rich, although poor; conversely, rich persons can become poor. In either situation, neither can cope with their new surroundings.

Answer 8

Because the rich are the employers...the poor are the employees. The employers control the wages of the employees which are usually just enough to get by for the general workers.

If I were an employer, I'd gladly allow my business to pay its employees the best possible wages which would allow them to survive while allowing the business to continue.

Answer 9

The most straightforward answer would be that individuals remain in their economic position for much the same reason that they attained that position initially.
Consider and analogous question: Why do runners who have won many marathons tend to win subsequent marathons? The answer, of course, is that they are excellent runners. One may or may not believe that the ability to earn large sums of money is morally praiseworthy, but it is clearly a skill, and there is nothing particularly surprising in consistent year-to-year performance in a skill-based activity.

Answer 10

From a financial standpoint, the rich are usually educated on how to stay rich (i.e., investing in stocks, using every single legal tax shield they can, maximizing tax deductions, etc.), while the poor only work to pay the bills.