A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.—Saul Bellow
Recently, there was an article on CNN about how the “fairly rich” were angry and frustrated at how little they had or how hard they had to work for things compared to their wealthier brethren. The boats, luxury cars, and villas seemed to fall from the sky for the ultra-rich, and it seemed none of them had to work any harder or make any sacrifices to keep them.
Pollster Doug Schoen, who counsels Michael Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton, among others, says "if you look at the lower part of the upper class or the upper part of the upper middle class, there's a great deal of frustration. These are people who assumed that their hard work and conventional 'success' would leave them with no worries. It's the type of rumbling that could lead to political volatility."
We’re not talking Mark Cuban or Richard Branson here—we’re talking doctors, lawyers, and other $100,000+ earners.
What do Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, and other stratospheric-level earners have that those doctors and lawyers don’t? Simple: plenty of spare time and clean hands--they make money with their MINDS instead.
When was the last time you saw an ultra-rich person actually taking the wheel and getting himself personally involved and his hands dirty? The truth is, they don’t. That’s what separates the classes—ALL classes—the ability to remove yourself from the daily action and let others do the dirty work for you.
Unfortunately, doctors, lawyers, even politicians have jobs that require them to personally be there to perform it, or it doesn’t get done. These professions may as well be glorified commission jobs! If a doctor or lawyer is out sick, then they don’t make money that day—their jobs are run by “billable hours.”
In order to get paid, they must generate billable hours (or billable treatments), just as a salesman must generate closed sales. Usually a specific goal of X number of transactions must take place in order for the business to stay in business. These professions have a somewhat hands-off position of practice ownership.
The ultra-rich, on the other hand, own practices too—mostly the buildings they occupy. This is as good position to be in, because they get paid regardless of “billable hours”, economic downturn, real estate market downturn, or personal life downturn. This is the security a good long-term lease provides, making the building owner more secure and more hands-off than the occupant.
In other words, the doctors and lawyers are too close to the fire for their own good. To be the professional may be to afford some ego-driven glitz and glamour, but to be the OWNER means to afford it in cash. Remember that commercial with the man on the riding mower in debt up to his eyeballs?
To be an owner means to have several layers of people working for you on your behalf, either directly or indirectly—most of the lawyers in a firm (or doctors in a practice) may not know or care who owns the building, but they unknowingly support the ultra-rich person and his/her family. Now they dare to revolt because they find themselves in a have-not position—this is almost too hysterical!
The rich became ultra-rich by letting go. Surrendering the hectic and dirty for the serenity of ownership is what propelled them into “ultra” status. They took a page from rental real estate ownership and magnified it ten times, then one hundred times. Yes, doctors and lawyers have to work hard for their money and toys, but that’s their downfall—THEY have to work for it, and they HAVE to work for it. Ultra-rich people sit back (on their yachts) and check their wireless broadband-driven bank accounts to see if Hands-Off Property Management deposited a check today.
See the difference? Apparently, a lot of $100,000+ earners don’t. The irony of it all is that an ordinary housewife with no degree (but lots of reading) is pointing this out. It’s enough to make me wonder why these highly-paid people (by comparison to me) don’t take the time or spend the money to go find out how to make more money with less work or sacrifice.
I guess financial laziness (or outright stupidity) isn’t just for low-income earners any more—it seems to have gone right to the top tax brackets. I’m going to get some popcorn and watch the fight. Knowing how to work smarter, not harder, may be worthy of extra butter--if you know what I mean.
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3 comments:
I like most of the post, but I disagree that this discontent can be blamed on "financial laziness or outright stupidity".
Rather, among physicians, you are seeing the effect that fixed prices (i.e. Medicare and Medicaid) has had on wages. The 20 year erosion has hit the point that most MDs now recognize they should have done something else for a living, because no matter how hard they work, they lose money.
Their only stupidity is in failing to recognize how socialism always has this vary same result.
The JD discontent is over the fact that the over-supply of lawyers has reduced their wages, and the competition is harder, and they wish they'd done something else.
Failing to be super-rich isn't a mark of idiocy.
Pogo: what do YOU call it when people of two VERY book-intensive professions can't find the wherewithall to pick up just one more book that has nothing to do with their profession on the face of it?
I call it idiocy or laziness.
Being a doctor or a lawyer who hangs out his own shingle is A BUSINESS, and anyone who intends on hanging out his/her own shingle had better be educated in HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS and ECONOMICS.
The most successful high-income earners today don't even go into the office--they can run their empires from home, the yacht, the plane, wherever--because they have OTHERS do the actual work! If doctors and lawyers (with lofty degrees) can't figure out that they need just one more book to study, then I feel sorry for them. I sit here surrounded by piles of books, reading and studying, yet I don't have time, patience, will, or free money to get a quality degree--do you think they feel sorry for me? Of course not!
Hooking the MD wagon to a so-called "stable payer" like the government programs only leads to trouble--your always held hostage by the budget. Hooking the lawyer wagon to the "stable payer" of the state (via public defender programs) does the same thing for lawyers. The only real way to make money is to hang out a shingle and wear two hats.
An actor whose name I cannot immediately recall (black guy from L.A. Law) took his father's advice when daddy said, "Acting is a business, so you need to be educated in business." The actor went to college and majored in Economics while minoring in fine arts. Needless to say, he LEARNED about money, how to handle it, and how to make more.
Doctoring and lawyering are businesses, too, and business should've been learned right along with core and major classes.
They just don't get it, and it seems they just get jealous and mad instead of trying to understand why they don't get it.
Amazing. I wonder what will happen next.
This is one of those times I'm pleased to be from a fairly humble background watching the fat cats fight.
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