The Inner Monologue

Let’s have an uncomfortable chat, my fellow “rich” people. You know who you are—you’ve got the nice house, the investment portfolio, maybe a vacation home or two. You’re doing great compared to most Americans. But here’s the brutal truth: you’re not actually rich. Not in the way that matters.

Oh sure, you’re rich compared to the 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. You’re rich compared to the barista who makes your oat milk latte. But compared to the real rich—the billionaires, the private-jet-and-yacht crowd, the “I could buy a small country if I wanted to” class? You’re basically middle-class with better wine.

The Math You’re Avoiding

• Median U.S. household income: ~$75,000
• You, a “rich” person making $500K–$1M/year: “Wow, I’m crushing it!”
• The richest American’s wealth increased in 2021: ~$24,000,000/hour (hourly)

See the problem? You’re closer to the barista than you are to billionaires, or anyone else at the top. And yet, every time someone suggests raising taxes on the rich, you clutch your dividend statements and scream, “But that’s class warfare!”

Why You Should Cheer for Higher Taxes on the Uber-Rich

1. You Are Not the Target – When progressives say “tax the rich,” they don’t mean you, sweet summer child. They mean the people who could lose 99% of their wealth and still have more money than your bloodline will see in 10 generations.
2. You Benefit from a Stable Society – Extreme wealth inequality leads to pitchforks. And guess what? The pitchforks aren’t heading for that billionaire’s orbital mansion first. They’re coming for your gated community.
3. The Ultra-Rich Are Gaming You Too – While you stress about capital gains taxes, the real elites are dodging taxes entirely via loopholes you never dreamed of. You’re paying more proportionally than they are. You’re getting played.

The Bottom Line

If you’re rich but still need to work to maintain your lifestyle, you’re not ultra-rich. You’re just temporarily embarrassed upper-middle-class. And unless you’re planning to found a space empire or buy a social media platform to troll people, you should be begging for higher taxes on the 0.1%.

Because right now, the system is rigged—and you’re not even at the rigging table. You’re just slightly closer to it than the rest of us.

So do us all a favor: Stop defending the people who wouldn’t notice if your entire net worth vanished from their portfolio tomorrow. Tax the real rich—before they convince you to keep fighting their battles for them.

—Sincerely, The Poors (Who Still Have to Explain This to You)