The Wolf Den #459 - Control Your Money, Control Your Destiny
thewolfden.substack.com
This newsletter is sponsored by PHEMEX, the world's best crypto exchange for both spot and leverage. Sign up with the link above and get some free Bitcoin - up to $3600 worth. NOTE: There is minor glitch in the system that is still asking former paid subscribers to renew their membership, which will be resolved (hopefully) today. If you are sent a renewal email, please CANCEL the paid membership and DO NOT RENEW. The newsletter is now FREE! You can also proactively cancel the paid membership by managing your subscription at the bottom of any newsletter.The 50 richest Americans are worth as much as the poorest 165 million. The population of the United States is roughly 330 million people. That means that half of the citizens of the US have accumulated an equivalent amount of wealth as the top 50.Data from the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2020 showed stark disparities by race, age and class. While the top 1% of Americans had a combined net worth of $34.2 trillion, the poorest 50% — about 165 million people — held just $2.08 trillion, or 1.9% of all household wealth.The 50 richest people in the country, meanwhile, were worth almost $2 trillion, up $339 billion from the beginning of 2020.And this was in 2020! This gap has only widened since.Covid-19 has disproportionately affected poorer people and people of color. The wealthy generally had the luxury of working at home or buying assets that benefited from inflation.Another key reason for the wealth disparity is that the vast majority of Americans did not benefit from rising stock prices. THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY. The bottom 90%’s exposure to the stock market has been dropping for almost two decades. Since peaking at 21.4% in 2002, upper middle class Americans have seen a 10 percentage point decline in their equity interest in companies. A similar pattern is seen among the bottom half.The wealthiest 1% own more than 50% of the equity in corporations and in mutual fund shares. The next 9% of the wealthiest own more than a third of equity positions — meaning that the top 10% of Americans hold more than 88% of shares.Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, control just 4.6% of U.S. wealth even though they are the largest in the workforce with 72 million members. And the share of the pie held by Black Americans is the same size it was 30 years ago.I am all for a free market and allowing people to excel, with unlimited earning potential and limited barriers. The greatest innovators should be able to perform in an environment of minimal friction, as the best of the best tend to leave a disproportionately positive legacy, propelling civilization ahead.Greatness is to be applauded, not stifled.But that’s not what’s happening here. Not only is wealth distributed disproportionately, but so is assistance and opportunity.The rich keep getting richer because we exist in a system that is designed to guarantee that they are too big to fail. While we watched our government debate the necessity for $1,200 stimulus checks for the struggling population, we saw increasing safety nets appearing for the wealthy and corporations. The Fed actively bought corporate debt and artificially inflated the value of our largest companies. This was effectively highway robbery from the poor in broad daylight, with the police watching and eating popcorn.It is socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.If you are rich, you know that you will get your bailout. Moral hazard has been eliminated from the equation. There’s no risk of jail time or significant penalties. The rich can behave badly with carte blanche and 0 downside risk. In fact, it’s largely encouraged.JP Morgan was proven complicit in decades of money laundering for some of the worst people on the planet. The penalty? A small fine and a slap on the wrist.Do you see anyone going to jail for causing the last 2 financial crises? Is anyone being punished for their bad behavior? The answer is obviously no.The system is fundamentally broken.There are few things the people can do. However, there is one thing that’s a small start - buying Bitcoin and beginning to free themselves from the oppressive Fed and monetary policy. It’s a small but necessary protest, and one that we should encourage people to participate in.Control your money, control your destiny.In This Issue:Control Your Money, Control Your DestinyAnalyzing The Bitcoin Mining Industry - IntoTheBlockBitcoin Thoughts And AnalysisAltcoin ChartsCoinbase Sued For Selling Unregulated SecuritiesArgentina Approves IMF Deal That Discourages CryptoPixellated Beer For Your AvatarMy Recommended Platforms And ToolsIF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH THE NEWSLETTER OR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, PLEASE CONTACT: PREMIUMSUPPORT@GETREVUE.CO
The Wolf Den #459 - Control Your Money, Control Your Destiny
The Wolf Den #459 - Control Your Money…
The Wolf Den #459 - Control Your Money, Control Your Destiny
This newsletter is sponsored by PHEMEX, the world's best crypto exchange for both spot and leverage. Sign up with the link above and get some free Bitcoin - up to $3600 worth. NOTE: There is minor glitch in the system that is still asking former paid subscribers to renew their membership, which will be resolved (hopefully) today. If you are sent a renewal email, please CANCEL the paid membership and DO NOT RENEW. The newsletter is now FREE! You can also proactively cancel the paid membership by managing your subscription at the bottom of any newsletter.The 50 richest Americans are worth as much as the poorest 165 million. The population of the United States is roughly 330 million people. That means that half of the citizens of the US have accumulated an equivalent amount of wealth as the top 50.Data from the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2020 showed stark disparities by race, age and class. While the top 1% of Americans had a combined net worth of $34.2 trillion, the poorest 50% — about 165 million people — held just $2.08 trillion, or 1.9% of all household wealth.The 50 richest people in the country, meanwhile, were worth almost $2 trillion, up $339 billion from the beginning of 2020.And this was in 2020! This gap has only widened since.Covid-19 has disproportionately affected poorer people and people of color. The wealthy generally had the luxury of working at home or buying assets that benefited from inflation.Another key reason for the wealth disparity is that the vast majority of Americans did not benefit from rising stock prices. THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY. The bottom 90%’s exposure to the stock market has been dropping for almost two decades. Since peaking at 21.4% in 2002, upper middle class Americans have seen a 10 percentage point decline in their equity interest in companies. A similar pattern is seen among the bottom half.The wealthiest 1% own more than 50% of the equity in corporations and in mutual fund shares. The next 9% of the wealthiest own more than a third of equity positions — meaning that the top 10% of Americans hold more than 88% of shares.Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, control just 4.6% of U.S. wealth even though they are the largest in the workforce with 72 million members. And the share of the pie held by Black Americans is the same size it was 30 years ago.I am all for a free market and allowing people to excel, with unlimited earning potential and limited barriers. The greatest innovators should be able to perform in an environment of minimal friction, as the best of the best tend to leave a disproportionately positive legacy, propelling civilization ahead.Greatness is to be applauded, not stifled.But that’s not what’s happening here. Not only is wealth distributed disproportionately, but so is assistance and opportunity.The rich keep getting richer because we exist in a system that is designed to guarantee that they are too big to fail. While we watched our government debate the necessity for $1,200 stimulus checks for the struggling population, we saw increasing safety nets appearing for the wealthy and corporations. The Fed actively bought corporate debt and artificially inflated the value of our largest companies. This was effectively highway robbery from the poor in broad daylight, with the police watching and eating popcorn.It is socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.If you are rich, you know that you will get your bailout. Moral hazard has been eliminated from the equation. There’s no risk of jail time or significant penalties. The rich can behave badly with carte blanche and 0 downside risk. In fact, it’s largely encouraged.JP Morgan was proven complicit in decades of money laundering for some of the worst people on the planet. The penalty? A small fine and a slap on the wrist.Do you see anyone going to jail for causing the last 2 financial crises? Is anyone being punished for their bad behavior? The answer is obviously no.The system is fundamentally broken.There are few things the people can do. However, there is one thing that’s a small start - buying Bitcoin and beginning to free themselves from the oppressive Fed and monetary policy. It’s a small but necessary protest, and one that we should encourage people to participate in.Control your money, control your destiny.In This Issue:Control Your Money, Control Your DestinyAnalyzing The Bitcoin Mining Industry - IntoTheBlockBitcoin Thoughts And AnalysisAltcoin ChartsCoinbase Sued For Selling Unregulated SecuritiesArgentina Approves IMF Deal That Discourages CryptoPixellated Beer For Your AvatarMy Recommended Platforms And ToolsIF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH THE NEWSLETTER OR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, PLEASE CONTACT: PREMIUMSUPPORT@GETREVUE.CO