Wait a second...I thought you wanted to be rich?

I can hear you now….”But I do! But I do!!”

Seems there’s a little bit of a conundrum going on with people recently. All you have to do is turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper, or turn on the radio, and as Emeril Lagasse would say ”BAM!”…..the headlines read…Those Dirty Rich People…Those Rich Wall Street Bankers…Those Rich money toting…you get the idea I’m sure.

Has anyone of late stopped to ponder that being the so-called ”Rich” is part of what it is to be an American. Our fore fathers, parents, and just about anyone whom was part of your life growing up wanted you to be able to have the opportunity to become rich. The problem happening right now is the people who want to blame someone are scouring over the land looking for anyone to lay blame on. The problem of course with this type of thinking is it’s shallow. Daily drum beats of TV news stories and alike help bolster this train of thought in the minds of people who want quick answers to complex questions. Sometimes you just need more than a 3 minute news headline.

Yes…..banks and other institutions played fast and loose with shareholders money. Yes…. other types of companies took incredible, and incredulous leveraging of assets without proper risk management. However, at the time almost all of these transactions were legal. They might have been made with poor judgment, but when everyone seems to be making money, no one questions as much as they should and blind eyes become more prevalent the longer it continues.

People are slow to ask themselves the questions that they demand from others in a holier than now demeanor. e.g.: When your 401K was growing by double-digit rates…did you complain? When you were signing on the dotted line for that house that was probably 5000 sq. ft. to big…did you complain? When you used your house as an ATM to purchase items that you now look back on as frivolous…did you complain? A true answer to these questions even if you didn’t partake in them is No. And with most why would you? As long as everything kept going up why not be on the ride? Within there lies the answer to all the problems. Rides, all rides at some point come to an end.

We are entering a time in our country where things for at least a while are going to be a little different from what they were just 24 months ago. Saving money, being a frugal shopper, dining more at home will probably be more the norm than it used to. In America unlike other countries we have boons, and we have busts. However unlike most other countries…We have had the greatness, and the opportunities to create more boons than any other country on this planet. We will get out of this morass, and we will come out stronger and better prepared for the times in front of us when we stop trying to pin the tail on the Rich and once again get back to trying to become Rich.

Mark