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.
Barbara says
Wow! Wonderful insight.
Hanna Perlberger says
There is a Jewish saying that he who is wealthy is happy with his lot.
Lyn says
Let us be content with our lot. The rich will never share their wealth, and I mean those with so much that they don’t know what to do with it. And those that are very comfortable and can afford to do much are rich enough that they often are the ones that complain the most!
Lizzie Hough says
Just back from our first ever Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, in Sturgis, SD. Incidentally, it was the 75th anniversary for this rally. We have a Victory trike, which we hauled in our friend’s toy hauler, along with his cycle. We camped in the famous Buffalo Chip campground, having made our reservations well over a year ago. We stayed ten days, the FIRST full vacation Bob and I have ever taken (been too busy raising and home educating five children).
We went on the cheap, so to speak, but still spent a lot of cash. What astounded me was the amount of revenue represented by the whole event…campers, toy haulers, tents, cycles, trikes, 4-wheelers, trucks and cars, concerts, food stuff, souvenirs, fuel, etc. etc. etc..It was an unbelievable gathering of wealth.
When it was over, campers just left tents, furniture, coolers etc. etc. that they didn’t want to haul home. I can’t imagine what THAT total of “waste” was.
Oh, it was the experience of a lifetime but certainly rubbed wrong on our minimalist tendencies. Truly a decadent representation of wealth in America. This article really brings out the truth about our country and our lives and the Sturgis Rally really puts an exclamation point to your thoughts. I am going to share it on my FB page and hope some of my friends will read it and learn as I did.
Thanks so much for your perspective.
Melton Hood says
Fascinating perspective. Thanks for sharing.
Cindi Rogers says
Just an observation…….Someone with great wealth that buys a mega yacht…. most people would say…….this man has more than he should…..why not give the money that would have bought this yacht and redistribute it to many to feed them and give them toilets or whatever………but most people do not realize this mans wealth and ability to buy a yacht supplies so many jobs to the masses…..think about it…….to build that yacht and maintain it requires an extensive amount of people power which provides good livings for many many individuals…..yes, some may only make $25,000.00 or $40,000…….no comparison with the millions or billions this man makes…….but it is still a salary that ranks in the top 1,2 or 3 percent of the world……………….If it were not for this mans wealth and ability and want of product many many people would be out of jobs……….. should we be grateful to this man not hateful because he has so much more……………just an observation
Darrel Adamson says
I agree with you, Cindi. It is sharing and generous when wealthy people buy products that put people to work . Construction and maintenance of items like mega or not yachts, aircraft, mega mansions, vacation homes or even construction of a bottle of wine spread the wealth. Even then after the initial purchase all that personal property is heavily taxed and it will be taxed from own to next owner until the item becomes scrap. Many people are employed in continued maintenance and upkeep of the properties. I think wealthies should be encouraged to spend and flaunt their hard work and good fortune not hide it. Spend it and working people get a chance to share the wealth.
Tara says
Hi! I have had the same thoughts as you. Apparently in the book crazy Rich Asians that same scenarios brought up. A couple of artists are paid a quarter million dollars each to paint a mural. One of them uses the money to pay off their home. The other artist uses the money to send their children to college. However there is this to be said, in total both those artists received half $1 million. Half $1 million spent another way could save a lot of lives and feed a lot of hungry people. So what is the most moral use of the money?
Byron Hildebrand says
I am in total agreement that we are blessed and that always looking at what we don’t have is harmful. The thing I do disagree with is comparing a minimum wage earner in the USA to people from other countries. The cost of living in other countries is much lower. An engineer in India earning $12,000 a year could live quite comfortably but would be hard-pressed to live on that amount of money in the USA
kris says
I compare my life to life throughout history and revel in the comfort and ease I enjoy. When Justin Bieber complained about difficulties in his life people were scathing in their comments, as if having money means you’re not going to have difficulties. I can Invision many potential problems coming from having fame and fortune.
Ash says
Thank you for this Joshua! Such a good perspective on things as usual! I live in London, UK, where things are very expensive and a lot pricier than the USA. However, whilst I have very little disposable income left after having paid for bills, mortgage, travel and food, I still feel I am very rich! I have a roof over my head and a beautiful husband that loves me very much. I really do feel I’m rich and that I have so much just from living in a safe, developed country with enough money to meet my needs and some wants! Your article today has enforced this, thank you very much! :-)
Mack Moore says
I am probably in the lowest 1% of Americans in terms of annual income and “net worth”; but it doesn’t matter. Not quite “the moneyless man” but virtually so, and it’s beautiful.
I am ecologically, industriously, and spiritually wealthy because I have a relationship to the natural world and self-employment work I’m the best at, and volunteer work I’m passionate about.
Joshua Becker, you’re one of my sources of inspiration in living a minimalist lifestyle (although I was already practicing it before I knew a name for it).
I’ve been gasoline free for over three years, and live in a simple but adequate mobile dwelling on a rented lot. Reducing my expenses rather than struggling to increase my income dramatically relieves stress and gives me time to devote to worthwhile volunteer work.
I was telling a friend yesterday that I have my own little paradise to be grateful for, alongside a beautiful river full of wildlife.
However, just hours later, I had a run-in with a drunken neighbor who is probably stressed out of his mind because of disposable consumer culture, and the social pressures it puts on him. Wasted lives are so sad. He probably earns many times what I earn, but I feel sorry for him.
And now he’s threatening to get me in trouble with county government based on an obscure ordinance against minimalist living which I didn’t even know existed. In some places it’s illegal to live in simple mobile dwellings–likely ordinances written by people obsessed with a skewed definition of the quality of life.
I should be able to pay my lot rent, be the quiet justice-minded environmentally-aware neighbor that I am, and be left alone. But now my future is uncertain. If a county agent knocks on my door, what will I do?
I’d like to hear from anyone who has ideas or experience about how to live simply (including mobile housing choices on rented land) despite constraining local ordinances or state laws.
Perhaps there are states or counties less obsessed with “raising” the lifestyle of their citizens by forcing us back into the disposable consumer culture via the commercialized housing market.
If you have ideas or experience that might help, please contact me through my website, http://wakingplanet.net Thank you.
Candi says
Excellent article! We had a GOB of money just a few short years ago. We were definitely in the top 1% globally. Through just two investments, which we thought at the time were the right thing to do, we lost both of them almost overnight, in addition to job changes. We found ourselves below, even, square one, before we had the money, BUT our perspective and attitudes toward money didn’t follow us. We continued to live as if we still had GOBS of money and the ability to create it. We now find ourselves having to dig out of a pit of our own making. We can’t forget that with gobs of money comes GOBS of responsibility. No matter how much money we have, we are still required to exercise stewardship over it. Now, we start again to regain our wealth, especially our emotional wealth, hopefully wiser, with a new-found and proper perspective of what true wealth is. The interesting thing is, even though we are on a down turn, we are still within the top 1% globally! What an attitude adjustment!! And I can truly say that I’m grateful for it.