[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by stevepaa

Yes, you are. And you are on the far side of the bell curve.

They above examples cite an EE who got a sweet deal and Hugh got an MBA. You guys are not average. The posters on this board are predominantly high earners.

I don’t know how this myth started: that people who don’t make as much as most of us are lazy. They aren’t. Most people in the workforce couldn’t do the things high earners do. They are doing the best they can.

Not this crap again. I've known a lot of people that weren't particularly smart that made something of themselves. Hell, I make decent money as an engineer, but there's experienced licensed plumbers that make better money. There are MANY trade related jobs that don't require formal education, but can be quite lucrative. Your mistake is correlating book smarts and money. Common sense, business acumen, and work ethic can carry you a long way in America.

Further, "that money is to pay the bills". Where do you suppose those "bills" come from? Possibly an ever increasing spread of social entitlement programs? Not to mention government regulation of EVERYTHING? You know, when I need more money, I try to cut spending. Perhaps government can learn a lesson from the personal finances of many Americans? Of course, I don't have the luxury of stealing money out of everyone else's pockets when I want to increase my spending.