Comments | ghostfire: Financial musings

ghostfire

Financial musings

Dec 18, 2010 16:43

I read the other day that Warren Buffett, the world's second richest man, started investing when he was 11. This didn't interest me nearly as much as the fact that he purchased his first farm at the age of 14, with money he made delivering newspapers. Now, I delivered newspapers for most of the little town I grew up in. I did this for seven years, ( Read more... )

Comments 9

cetriya December 18 2010, 23:06:20 UTC

definitely not in this time, rarely do I see retail works moving up in rank just cause they worked for so long. the most is be coming a supervisor.

Its all in what you know, who you know, and how you work your resources (besides toling away day in and day out at some 'job')

ghostfire December 20 2010, 07:43:30 UTC

Sadly, if you're at the bottom, everyone you know tends to be at the bottom too. Even at the crappy retail jobs I worked, I saw managers being hired from outside when there were workers who had been there for years. I wouldn't call retail managers much better than bottom rung, though.

goodbyebartleby December 18 2010, 23:24:16 UTC

Corporations have proven to be the death of democracy, self-sufficiency, the environment, upwards mobility, creator ownership, the media, jelly beans, and the moon. But at least they let us buy cheap underwear.

zahdi December 19 2010, 10:34:28 UTC

I like this comment.

ghostfire December 20 2010, 07:37:40 UTC

Time to start knitting my own underwear. :P

It is sad, though. Our society depends on its inhabitants being human beings with a moral compass, in addition to enough intelligence to follow basic rules. Now, we've given too much over to corporations - given them rights, as if they were people, but the only direction they face is towards money, and fast money at that, damned be the consequences.

zahdi December 19 2010, 10:38:27 UTC

Yeah... things today cost a lot more than they did when Warren Buffett was growing up. Have you ever seen Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story?" He talk some about how his family had the ability to have tons of savings when he was growing up, to buy homes and new cars whenever.

There are other things that go into it of course, from government aid (which people did get in the 1950's - grants to buy homes from the US government) to family aid.

Who taught him how to invest? for example. Who started up his fund or helped him along the way?

Nowadays, those sources are mostly cut off from us... the government doesn't readily help people anymore and the families that are in the know are by and large not the ones that are connected to the families that need to know .... which is probably a much larger number than it was 60 or 70 years ago.

ghostfire December 20 2010, 07:34:54 UTC

I haven't seen that one, but it's on my list to check out. It's disturbing to see society stratifying back to the point where it was 120 years ago.

ramothhe December 19 2010, 21:36:20 UTC

Realistically, working hard from the bottom rung will never, ever, ever get you anywhere.

It is too true. My great grandparents actually started a potato farm and a potato chip company out of nothing and actually grew to be quite financially successful- but you really don't see that kind of thing anymore..

ghostfire December 20 2010, 07:33:01 UTC

I'd love to be able to buy a little farm, but a tiny farm property, even in the sticks of Pennsylvania, is several hundred thousand dollars. If someone doesn't start with family and connections to get a boost, it seems like you have to work your whole life to get to the point where people could get in just a few years, a couple of generations ago.