Don’t Knock the Rich
Robert Orben, who was known as a humorist, is believed to be the first person who said “Don’t knock the rich. When was the last time you were hired by somebody poor?” That was back in 1977.
Since then, it has been either repeated by or wrongly attributed to a lot of people. I know, lots of people believe President Reagan said it, but that’s because Vice President Pence (who isn’t that bright) keeps saying he did. Milton Berle repeated it. It was attributed to Arnold Schwarzenegger. A number of politicians have borrowed it in different forms. Sean Hannity said it. It was even used in a Ross Jewelers ad.
It’s a good quote. I guess the number of times it has been borrowed or reimagined is proof of that.
But, it is a good quote because it is true.
Many people choose to hate the wealthy for a number of reasons. For some, they believe the wealthy have an obligation to share their money with those less fortunate. Others believe there is a limit on how much money is “enough” and hate the wealthy because they see them as greedy. Honestly, I believe most of it is simple jealousy. Wealthy people have what many don’t, and people hate them for it.
What wealthy people have is much more than money. They have the freedom to buy what they want, go where they want, live where they want, and do what they want. It’s not necessarily the money people are jealous of, it is what the money allows the wealthy to do that makes people jealous.
There are other factors, too. The families with generational wealth where the “kids” are arrogant and obnoxious and wouldn’t know how to survive without the family credit card. You know the ones I am talking about. People both hate and are fascinated by those kinds of wealthy people.
I don’t often say I admire people like Ben Affleck, but he just put his kid in check to keep him from becoming one of “those” rich kids. His son was asking for a pair of shoes with a $6k price tag. He asked his son about saving for the shoes and even asked if he had been mowing the lawn for money. When his son said, “We have the money,” Affleck replied, “I have the money, you’re broke.” Good for you, dad.
As with most things nowadays, politics decides which rich people you are supposed to hate and which ones you’re not. Right now, there is nothing more fashionable than hating on uber wealthy Elon Musk, except maybe hating on not as wealthy President Trump. And, like every other wealthy person, people have made up reasons to hate him and ignored the reasons to like him.
As an example, people who support Ukraine in their war with Russia hate Elon Musk because he is working for President Trump. Elon Musk has provided the entire satellite communications network for the Ukraine Army with Starlink. Without him, Ukraine would have been destroyed month ago. They tend to ignore that because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
Elon Musk, across all his companies, also employs over 110,000 people. He has been the #1 innovator in electric vehicles. He has singlehandedly reinvigorated space travel and exploration. He has brought satellite communications to the average user, including during emergencies like the hurricanes that devastated the western Carolinas.
Jeff Bezos and Amazon employ over 1.5 million people. They have revolutionized how we purchase goods.
The Walton family and Walmart employ 2.1 million people. They are the single largest private employer in the United States.
Could you imagine if these people and their companies got tired of all the hatred and jealousy? What would happen if they liquidated and shuttered their businesses? What if they just took the money and ran? What would happen if they ended these empires? Millions of people would be out of work. The goods and services they have been providing for years would come to a screeching halt. It would, for a time, suck for everyone.
Remember, these people are under NO OBLIGATION to keep doing what they are doing.
While so many people sit there and lament over what rich people aren’t doing or haven’t done, they should be appreciative of what they have done and what they are doing. Appreciate the fact that these people took RISKS. They invested their time and money to ACHIEVE something. They BUILT their businesses into what they are. And we ALL benefit.
I know, it is so easy to hate on not only wealthy people but also the capitalist system that allowed them the opportunity to become wealthy. Notice I didn’t say the system MADE them wealthy. It ALLOWED them the opportunity to become wealthy. It is easy to let jealousy or politics blind you to what they have accomplished and what they have done and continue to do for everyone else. I know it is easy to say, “that’s not enough” or they should “do more”.
So much of this is coming from the twenty-somethings wearing the $40 Che Guevara t-shirt. No single piece of clothing is more iconically stupid than that one. Some smart Capitalist somewhere is cashing in using an image of Marxist and selling it to a kid who wants to be a Socialist but had to borrow money from his parents to do it. Hilarious.
At the end of the day, most Americans whether they want to acknowledge it or not, owe a debt of gratitude to the wealthy people. Without them, our industries wouldn’t be what they are. Our innovation wouldn’t be what it is. Our nation wouldn’t be the global leader it is. And most of US wouldn’t have the jobs, the income, or the stability we have.
So, next time you get all fired up and want to hate on the wealthy, stop and reconsider.
Don’t Knock the Rich. When was the last time you were hired by somebody poor?