Readers of The Wall Street Journal

~ MaryG

How does your mindset affect your financial success?

One thing that people who are on the other side of the political spectrum from me (my father for one) love to say is that there’s no other country in the world where people can just “have an idea” and make millions of dollars. They say that’s a uniquely American thing.

Here’s an article from the Wall Street Journal that doubles down on this idea that America is great because anyone who works hard can get rich. I’ve also noticed that these same people tend to say Europe is poor and declining. “They don’t even realize how poor they are,” I heard one Conservative acquaintance (another white man) say.

I’m all for people working hard and doing well as a result, but this idea that everyone should just “have an idea” (like opening a hot dog stand) and through sheer grit and a positive attitude make a fortune seems…naive. And also, given who tends to espouse it, the height of privilege.

9 thoughts on “Readers of The Wall Street Journal”

  1. Unfortunately I cannot read the article but it sounds like it espouses ‘the American Dream” which I’m sure for some exists and others aspire to.
    The comment “They don’t even realise how poor they are,” makes me smile. In my humble opinion it comes down to what do you value in life:-money, family, work life balance?
    Us Europeans look across the “pond” and cannot believe the working environment we see and read about. Europeans have far more paid holiday, a far better work/life balance, extensive maternity/paternity rights, paid sick leave, in the Uk free healthcare for all etc etc.
    Wherever you live in the world there will always be rich and poor and most of us fall somewhere in the middle of the two

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  3. Yes, yes! Coming from Maine, I have a keen understanding of poverty and struggle. I knew many people who worked very hard but never attained any amount of money. I was lucky to grow up in a small town were the poor and the middle class—there were few rich people—lived on the same streets, went to the same churches, and knew each other. Everyone worked. Some people just made more money than others.

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  4. I know, I read the article, and it was kind of funny. Portillo’s is okay. I’ve tried it a few times since we have one nearby. The hot dogs are good. I think that article was targeted more toward entrepreneurs than anything else, but I agree with you that the notion that Europe is poor and declining makes no sense. Americans who say that have never lived there. You can’t just visit Europe on vacation and suddenly become an expert.

    I lived in Belgium for three years, and Europe is definitely not poor. There aren’t many shops in the U.S. that simply close for a month so the owners can take a vacation. In Belgium, many of them do. That tells you how much they respect family time and work-life balance.

    Yes, a person with a good idea, luck, and support from family and friends can become wealthy. But, it’s ludicrous to say that every American with a good idea will become a millionaire if they commit to hard work. I know the millionaires and billionaires politicians in D.C. didn’t have a good idea, nor did they work hard for their money. I think one of them was given a million dollars or so to start a business. Definitely not hard work in that particular case.

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    1. So cool that you lived in Belgium for so long. As a chocoholic, I’m jealous!

      I think the other thing that gets lost sometimes is that nobody gets rich ALONE. Whether it’s the teachers who taught you math, or the firefighters who protect your warehouse, or the workers who make your hotdogs, Mr. Billionaire is part of a community. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur.

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      1. I know, the chocolates are so good! And the waffles. 😋 You’re spot on. There’s a network of people behind them who support each and every one of those entrepreneurs. No one gets rich alone. 👍🏼

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