Is wealth a badge of honor… or a symbol of shame?  Practically every time Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama open their mouths, they are vilifying the rich… while Donald Trump is clearly proud of his wealth, and promises repeatedly to bring wealth back to America.  Who’s right?  Is there something MORALLY or ETHICALLY either GOOD or BAD about wealth?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll spell out the answer for you RIGHT NOW in Episode #224.

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Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!  This is the show where you learn how to be a wise, profitable steward of your money…

Today we’re going to talk about a topic that’s important, timely and rather personal.  We’re going to address the ETHICS… the MORALITY, even… of acquiring wealth, and being wealthy.

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So… is wealth a good thing?  Is there any moral or ethical position to wealth at all?

We’re in an election year, so it’s highly relevant to see what politicians are saying about wealth.

Our outgoing president has left no doubt where he stands on that.  Remember these words of his from several years ago:  “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.”  That’s right, folks… there’s our president saying that those of you who have poured your blood, sweat and tears into building a business, well, guess what… you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen… according to our President.  By the way… the link to the video where Obama said that is in today’s show notes page at SDIRadio.com/224.

So Obama clearly thinks that your business… your wealth… isn’t yours.  Somebody else gave it to you.  You have what somebody else built.  You’ve taken what isn’t yours… you must give it back.

Similarly, current candidate Hillary Clinton – who recently admitted she’s not driven a car since 1996 – commented that “There are rich people everywhere. And yet they do not contribute... They don't invest in public schools, in public hospitals, in other kinds of development”.  Clearly, Mrs. Clinton lumps all rich people into the category of being “takers”, not “givers”… with a clear implication that there’s something wrong, something fundamentally dirty, about wealth.

Donald Trump has the opposite opinion, clearly and proudly embracing his own wealth, and claiming that it’s his wealth that makes him politically incorruptible.

Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Well, I’m right, and I’ll be happy to tell you why.  Hehehehe

My friends, wealth and the things that comprise it… money, real estate, stocks, businesses, etc… these things are distinctly amoral… that means WITHOUT morality… neither good nor bad.  Practically all inanimate objects are completely without moral weight.

I’ll go a step further… the moral character of money or assets does not change based on how that money or those assets were acquired.  Think about a $100 dollar bill.  Is that particular bill any more or less moral than any other $100 bill?  Of course not!  And that’s true whether that bill was acquired through flipping burgers at McDonald’s, through working as a corporate CEO, or even working as a drug dealer.

Money is money.  It’s not good and it’s not bad.  Of course, if you’re a drug dealer, you’re a horrible scumbag who should be put under the jail for the rest of your life.  But that has no relevance whatsoever to the basically amoral nature of money itself.

But we’re not talking about money, really.  We’re talking about wealth… wealth is an accumulation of excess money and assets, beyond what you need to live.

So is WEALTH either good or bad?  There again, wealth is neither good nor bad.  BUT pay close attention to this:

Contrary to what the left-leaning politicians will tell you, wealth is almost always a sign of GOODNESS… a sign that somebody has done something well along the way… an indicator that somebody has worked hard, made wise decisions, and remained diligent through trial.

Allow me to say what’s profoundly politically Incorrect:  Amassing wealth PROBABLY means you’ve done something really, really well that helped a lot of people… or maybe that you helped a few people in a really profound way.

Wealth is nearly ALWAYS an indicator of those three things – hard work, wise decision making and long-term diligence.  All of those are very good traits… and wealth is a common reward for having such admirable traits.

And if you’re one of the bleeding heart types who instantly thinks of Bernie Madoff… or you get all out of what about the amount of money that CEO’s and hedge fund managers are paid… well, with all due respect… GROW UP.  I mean, come on, really!  For every crooked person who got rich, there are MILLIONS who became wealthy the right way… through hard work, wise decision making and long-term diligence.  And Madoff went to jail.  And those rich hedge fund managers… well guess what?  They’re rich specifically because they’ve made their CLIENTS rich, too… and if their clients are happy with them, why do you feel your opinion has a single iota of value?

Yes, my friends… wealth is practically always a badge of honor, and not a symbol of shame.  In nearly every single case, guilt is an inappropriate emotion as a reaction to wealth, but the appropriate feeling is gratitude.

Wealth is good.  The traits required to achieve wealth are good traits, and admirable traits.  And anybody who tells you otherwise is someone who opposes being committed to working hard, making wise decisions, and being diligent over the long term.  No, those traits don’t always lead to wealth.  But where wealth is earned, those traits are always present.

Don’t be proud of your wealth, be grateful for it.  Rather, be proud of the hard work, be proud of the wise decisions, be proud of the diligence that got you where you are.  And be grateful for the wealth that resulted from it.

And never, ever let scumbag politicians make you believe that wealth is bad or that you are bad because you’ve achieved it.  You are to be commended, and America wouldn’t be what it is without you, my financially successful friends.

My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever!

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