Recently, there have been numerous reports highlighting the distribution of wealth and income inequality in both America and around the world. The news is far from healthy:
- It is currently estimated that by the year 2016, the richest 1 percent will control more than half of the world’s wealth.
- Even more shocking, the combined wealth of the 80 richest people in the world is the same as that of the bottom 50% of the Earth’s population—totaling 3.5 billion people.
- In America, the wealth inequality gap continues to grow as America’s middle class shrinks. The share of American households in the middle class fell from 56.5 percent in 1979 to only 45.1 percent in 2012. And there is no indication this trend will reverse itself.
Regardless of how you think the problem should be resolved, this is not good news.
Numerous economic studies indicate the significant dangers to society when the wealth gap widens—both economically and for personal well-being. One of the most important factors designating first-world countries from third-world countries is the size of the middle class and opportunity for social mobility. I have seen firsthand the damaging effect of income inequality.
There are solutions to this problem and we need to find them.
But recently, I have begun noticing another unhealthy trend. One that may be related to the widening gap, but more likely, finds its root in the human spirit. It too requires a solution, albeit a much easier one to define.
This equally negative trend is the wealth gap we focus on in our mind and the resulting division we artificially create because of it.
Let me explain what I mean with a short story from this past weekend:
On Sunday, I was spending some time with neighbors. Economically speaking, we live very similar lives in our suburban neighborhood outside Phoenix. At one point, one of the guys struck up a conversation with one of the teenage boys in attendance—the son of another friend. In response to a question, the teenager mentioned the Soccer Club he had begun playing for. This Soccer Club, not too far down the road from us, just happens to be located in one of the wealthiest counties in the country.
My friend’s immediate response to this information was telling, “Oh, so you’re on a team with a bunch of rich kids?” The jealousy contained in his voice was difficult to mask.
His statement, I believe, is indicative of how most of us view wealth: “Those with more are the rich ones, not me.”
I mean, never mind the fact that earlier in the day my friend had to decide which of their two vehicles he would drive to the party. Forget the part that we were enjoying fine food and drink in a comfortable, well-decorated home. Disregard that he had enough money to care for his health needs, was making plans to retire in the near future, and had even saved a bit of money for his child’s college education… in his mind, he was not rich. The “other guys” down the street were the rich ones.
We experience this often in our thinking. We usually compare our financial circumstance to those who have more. And as a result, we rarely consider ourselves wealthy. The world is big and there is always somebody with more. No wonder 55% of millionaires do not consider themselves rich.
We see this also on a macro-level in our society. In our country and around the world, “The 1%” has become a derogatory term describing the wealthiest among us. Subtly, it is used to designate the apparent, insatiable greed of those who already own enough. We use it in conversation to draw a sharp contrast between those who are “rich,” and those of us who most assuredly, are not.
Again, because we compare our financial circumstance to those who have more, we refuse to consider ourselves among the rich. But something interesting happens when we begin to expand our comparisons.
Globally, an estimated 6 billion people live on less than $13,000/year. And nearly half the world’s population, 2.8 billion people, survive on less than $2 a day.
According to the non-profit group Giving What We Can, an annual income of $40,000 places you in the richest 2.0% of the world’s population. An income of $25,000/year puts you in the top 3%.
Even a minimum wage job ($7.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year) puts you in the top 8% of all people on the planet in terms of income. Adjusting for actual purchasing power makes little difference in the percentages.
In other words, we are the rich ones. When we begin to expand our worldview beyond those who only have more than us, we quickly discover we are already among the wealthiest in the world today. And in most cases, we are the 1%, globally speaking.
We are already wealthy. And this should change entirely the way we live our lives. (tweet that)
This realization invites us to pursue happiness elsewhere. If I already exist in the top 2% of wage-earners in the world, is reaching the top 1.8% really going to increase my happiness index significantly? Maybe having more money is not the answer, maybe I will need to look elsewhere.
It requires us to rethink contentment. The level of income in our countries is just one economic measurement. In addition to income, average home sizes have nearly tripled in the past 50 years, televisions outnumber people in the average American home, and the average British 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily. Despite our material accumulation, discontent fuels more desire, more shopping, and more debt. If all that we already own has not satisfied the deepest longings of our heart by now, they probably never will.
Our wealth calls us to embrace a higher standard. Most of the “us vs. them” conversations concerning wealth focus on how those with more should spend their money differently—whether by governmental authority or by personal initiative. But, if “we” became “they,” shouldn’t we try to live by the same standard we called them to uphold?
It opens the opportunity for greater generosity in our lives today. The thinking runs deep in many of our hearts: Once I make more money, I will become more generous. But the research indicates otherwise. We are already wealthy—most of us ranking in the top 2% globally. The time for generosity is now. And maybe the greatest benefit of generosity is the realization that we already have enough.
Are you the wealthiest human being in the world? Absolutely not (I mean, unless you are reading Bill). But that doesn’t mean “rich” is some far off concept you will never attain. In reality, most of us have already achieved it. And this ought to change both how we live and define wealth.
Fiona says
Thanks Joshua for this post. I’ve heard this message a number of times in the last few years, but oh, it is so easy to forget how rich I am, and end up wishing for more, or procrastinating greater generosity “until we can afford it”. Thanks for reminding me.
Abbie says
As a family already living different than many – two bedrooms for six of us (four kids share), and only one (really old) tv – we still have more than enough, never go hungry, have too many toys to pick up and too many clothes to choose from. I am working toward pursuing more time connecting with my kids, more time outdoors and not being managed by “stuff.” Thank you.
Michael says
As a Child we lived in a
3 BR 1 bath. 4 girls shared one room and 2 boys shared one. We lined up for the bath. We had one black and white TV and no ac (in Deep South). One attic fan which lulled us to sleep at
Night. In my fathers wealthiest days he made 45k and we all attended Catholic school. We played outside til dark and we got one treasured gift
For
Christmas. Happy memories!
Nichole says
Thank you for tackling such a prickly subject, and doing it well. There are so many things about this subject that have troubled me for quite some time.
1. The jealousy and even worse, envy displayed by so many in our society today.
2. The lessening of generosity as incomes increase.
3. The demonization of “rich” people.
4. The lack of hope that many people in our society feel about their prospects.
I feel that every single one of these problems relates to one thing. Actually, the decrease of one thing. I call it AIP: asses in pews. The fewer AIP each week, each year, each decade that we see in western society, the less virtuous we become. And all of the problems I enumerated above and so many more, stem from that lack of virtue. The majority of our ancestors learned virtue in church. As the majority of our current population decides more and more that they do not need or want church in their lives, our descent into this unvirtuous state will unfortunately continue.
Michael says
Thank you for saying this Nichole. I completely agree.
Miki Jeffers says
You don’t have to attend church to be virtuous or learn to be virtuous. Nor do you have to believe in a god. In my opinion, it really boils down to taking personal responsibility for your life and your actions.
Judy says
I agree with you, Nichole! But don’t be discouraged! I know a lot of people who don’t attend church regularly, but trust me—they still have God in their hearts and are living to serve Him.
Kevin @ Christian Simplicity says
Great approach. My wife and I were walking the other day in the freezing cold winter here on the East coast. We started talking about the native American Indians and were wondering what their lives were like. I asked, “other than healthcare and potential issues of tribal violence, do you think that there is much difference in the quality of life they experienced vs what we experience?” Aside from a few modern conveniences we couldn’t think of much. Something to consider – how much of “the good life” is manufactured and cultivated by consumer marketing?
Katrina Kelly says
I love this blog a lot, you write with great sincerity and I often find inspiration from your writings. In this post however, I think there are too many numbers. They really don’t mean anything. Just because someone is in the top 2% of wealth doesn’t mean they can live on that amount. My response isn’t necessarily to this post directly, but just the topic. No one knows poverty until they live it. I made less than $6,000 last year and am currently unemployed because I was let go at the best job I’ve ever had, making $11/hr working around 28 hours/week. That’s the best job I’ve ever had. I could almost pay all my basic bills, but nothing extra besides a small amount of food and gas. The employer had to fire me because they ran out of business. Every place I’ve worked wouldn’t hire me for full time hours, or even near it. My job a year ago, they got down to where they would only schedule me 4 hours per week. These places also treat you like crap, lie about you, make up things and yell at you, cut you down, and make you feel like scum. How bad do you think my spirit is? They don’t treat you like a human. I was in college for 7 years. I earned two college degrees, have all kinds of credentials, and extra education. The past 4 years since graduating I have either been unemployed because places won’t hire me, or have worked for min wage for most all the jobs I’ve had. It really makes me doubt myself as a person. I often think, ‘what is wrong with me?’. These jobs have made me feel like a no-one. They don’t want an educated person like me because I am a risk to hire and they don’t want to deal with a knowledgeable person. I don’t feel those numbers take truly into account the cost of living in typical society America. We live away from our families, we live in a structure where most people need to commute by car. We have to have insurances to protect everything, pay a lot of taxes even out of a poverty line wage. That’s just the basics, on top of that add on gadgets, clothing, things, internet, TV. Living minimalist is necessary now if we want to survive, but it’s still costly to live in America just for the basics, even those who live very much in poverty. We still may be wealthier monetarily, but it can only be related to the cost of living. The problem is what America tells us what we need to own and how to live in its structure.
Fran says
Well said! And now a person has to have a computer or smartphone with internet to do almost everything, including often to search for or to apply for a job, or to do their job. What you said rings so true: “America tells us what we need to own and how to live in its structure.” This does limit to what degree many of us can minimalize. I wish you luck in finding a job with a liveable wage.
Eve Johnston says
You are not a nobody. I have been desperately poor, have lived in a homeless shelter, etc. Your income does not define you, you need to move past linking self-confidence to how other people behave. I love your comment, because Mr. Becker is making his argument based on the premise that all of his readers have enough. And by enough, I mean adequate housing, heat, food, etc. You are so right that the amount of money you have doesn’t mean squat if you can’t live on it, and comparing someone who is poor here to someone in a country without a money based economy is absurd. But you are intelligent, educated, curious, and at least somewhat ambitious to get through seven years of college. I’m sure you have many other good qualities that come from inside you, please base your opinion of yourself on these things instead of the way that broken people behave trying to man themselves feel better.
Mary Lewis says
Good post. Reality check needed here!
Lori in Prescott says
Katrina, I totally understand what you are saying. Been there. My advice is to move to a better area of the country for jobs. Beleive me there are pockets throughout the U.S. that were virtually unaffected by the downfall in the economy. There are pockets that came back like wildfire. Network like you’ve never networked before. Utilize all the free tech services offered in your local library. Find out about your local county healthcare. The problem is when we are so used to having it all, we are unaware of the services out there because we didn’t need to know. Do you know why people without as much give more? They have empathy.
Mary Lewis says
Agree.
The charitable donations by those with more money are often driven by goals other than empathy – tax deductions, recognition in their community, etc.
Kizzy says
What an excellent and equally thought-provoking comment. I think that living minimally is necessary for many but also very useful for many of us. To live that way, happily though, it does depend on us unplugging from what society tells us we need and that is not easy. I find it easier the more I unplug from mainstream culture. Not watching regular TV with advertisements, not buyin magazines and newspapers where again we are advertising fodder. And so for those who have experienced a similar employment situation as you we need to find solutions. I’m appalled and saddened that employers are so sh**ty (pardon my French) but not so surprised as I learn more about the structure of society and how even they are victims of “I need more”, the result of which is deep unhappiness and the resultant mistreatment of fellow beings.
Mary Lewis says
“I don’t feel those numbers take truly into account the cost of living in typical society America. We live away from our families, we live in a structure where most people need to commute by car.” And there’s the rub. Our cities can’t compare to cities in other countries simply because we have such poor public transportation. Many are like transportation deserts.
Amy says
Thank you Joshua! Wake up call for all of us in this country!!
Jess Townes says
I think that statistics on how much we give versus our income are also interesting and worth exploring. On the whole in the United States, people with lower incomes tend to give a larger percentage of those incomes than those who make more money. As long as we buy into the principal of scarcity this won’t change. Thank you for adding your voice to this important conversation.
Thalia says
Jess, you make an excellent point! It is the same here, in Australia — lower income earners repeatedly appear to be more ready to demonstrate generosity than “the 1%”. This is especially true of those who have discovered how to find happiness in other areas of life.
Materialism and generosity are a rare couple. When we stop tying our success to our possessions, the currency that bought them becomes much easier to give away.
http://www.lifeinthesunlight.com
Jessica says
Hi Thalia,
I’m not sure this is entirely true. I’d rather say that the top 1% show their generosity differently. There are so many people, like for example Hollywood stars or people like Bill Gates who give back to society on a level that we never could – money wise. It might be true that we see more people volunteering who are middle or lower class (if you want to define people like that), but there are different ways to be generous.
Mary Lewis says
Read the study: http://www.salon.com/2014/10/06/study_rich_give_less_to_charity_as_low_and_middle_income_people_give_more/
Ann says
Thank you for the reality check!!
Kate Roberts says
Thank you for writing this insightful piece. I never thought that I was in the 3% of richest people. That fact makes me realize I have alot to be thankful for.
Janete Canteri says
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”(Ecclesiastes 5:10)
We are much richer than we think we are even living here in Brazil and with all the problems we have.
Thanks for the post.
Janete Canteri
JJ says
Agreed! A change of focus will make a world of difference!
Di says
Thanks Joshua and thanks Janete – Ecclesiastes appears to be the spirit of minimalism…I will revisit!