Some advice for the class-envy crowd

I’ve about had it up to my eyeballs with all this white privilege nonsense. The EPA recently gave a $30,000 grant to a Unitarian church that preaches “white privilege” and says America is “structurally racist.” The money was given out in a so-called “environmental justice grant” for climate change education. What that has to do with white privilege is anybody’s guess, but it’s time to set the record straight.

Certainly there was a time in this country when being born white gave one a distinct advantage. We’re now 50 years beyond that. There’s, no doubt, an advantage to being born rich, but that’s no longer to the exclusion of minorities. The folks a couple of doors down from me live in a huge house with a swimming pool and a gate and they’re black. They are privileged, I guess, but not because of race. They’re privileged because they worked hard and worked smart.

What’s ironic about this white privilege foolishness is it’s oftentimes coming from exclusive schools that charge outlandish tuition. If you’re black and you’re attending one of these universities, I have news for you. You’re privileged.

But what does privileged even mean? It means you’ve reached a level where you’re able to enjoy the finer things in life. That used to be what we strove for in this country. Now it’s something to be ashamed of. That needs to end.

We all dream of working our way up the ladder and being able to enjoy that five-star resort vacation. We don’t always get there, but it’s part of what motivates us. It’s called capitalism, and that’s the crux of problem.

These people who whine and moan about white privilege are the same ones who whine and moan about capitalism. It’s not fair. The reason it’s not fair to them is because they’re lazy. They’d rather have the government redistribute money to them than work for it. Of course, “redistribute” is an odd term. In order for income to be redistributed it would first have to be distributed. Income is not distributed. It’s earned. That’s a hard pill to swallow for those who spend their lives coveting what everyone else has.

I’ve often noted it says a lot about a person when they’re more concerned about those who make more than they do rather than those who make less. This obsession with the one-percenters is not only perverted, it’s dangerous to the future well-being of the country.

Did you know that the vast majority of the wealthy in this country didn’t inherit it? PNC Wealth Management conducted a survey several years ago. They polled people with more than $500,000 in extra cash available to invest. I think we can all agree, these people qualify as rich. Only 6% got their money through inheritance.

Here’s another stat you’ll find interesting. According to National Review, the average rich household has four times as many full-time workers as do poor households. Egads, I think we’ve found the secret to wealth. Work!

Here’s something else that may interest you. Handling money is a skill that has to be developed through good habits. Seventy percent of lottery winners will go broke within seven years. Also, researchers at Vanderbilt, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Pittsburgh found the more money you win, the more likely you are to go broke, and more likely to go broke faster.

In other words, it ain’t that easy to get rich and stay rich. Instead of chastising the rich, these class warfarists should study how it’s done. And then get to work.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.