America's Idiot Rich

[tclambert]

52. The title doesn't necessarily imply all rich Americans are idiots. A sub-class of idiots exists

amongst the rich. This is what differs with those same idiots' belief that they must be extra smart because they're rich. Some, I say some, rich people confuse being born into a wealthy family with being inherently smarter and more virtuous than people foolish enough to choose poor parents.

Many of America's rich see the idiocy in the various myths mentioned, like that nefarious poor people engineered the financial crisis, tricking and victimizing the unwary lenders who offered sup-prime mortgages to any warm body who walked in. That's why many rich people have called for raising their own taxes, supporting the Buffett rule (named after a rich guy), and calling for stronger regulation of the giant financial corporations.

The title is ambiguous. The article is a little more nuanced. I'd kinda like to see a discussion about "Smart Rich" vs. "Idiot Rich."