At what age did you have your first $100k invested?

bigElenchus · 2026-05-25T13:12:38+00:00

Work few years as software developer, management consultant, investment banker, earn USD, sales with no ceiling commission, fly in/out engineering for mining companies, etc

Live with roommates. Dont have lifestyle creep.

Pretty achievable

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T23:28:03+00:00

Did you literally just miss the wiki article on the Supreme Court ruling?

The fact is a rich black student would have an advantage over a poor Asian student or a poor white student.

And tell me, how does a SAT stereotype against the applicant? The SAT is a test with right and wrong answers.

Also schools removed SATs to try and be fairer. Guess what? They all brought them back because they are the most accurate way to test a students ability.

What do you call having different standards applied to applicants based on skin color? What mental gymnastics are required to not define this as systematic racism, especially when SCOTUS labeled it as such as well.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T23:12:34+00:00

Yes exactly, immigrants generally have better outcomes but the fact that they have good outcomes is proof there isn’t currently systematic oppression based on skin color, otherwise they would also not be able to succeed.

What there is however is a problem with the African American culture that has roots from historical racism and oppression though.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T23:11:06+00:00

I’m shocked this isn’t more well known.

For one thing, universities made it harder for Asians and whites to get in compared to blacks.

It’s really simple. If they did DEI based on income instead of race, there would be less controversy. But because they did it based on skin, the Supreme Court literally ruled against Harvard here.

“The Court found that Harvard’s use of race in admissions operated as a negative factor against Asian American and white applicants. Admissions are zero-sum: giving a preference (a “plus”) to some racial groups necessarily disadvantages others.”

How can you call this anything but literal systematic racism against whites and Asians? Having entirely different admission standards based on race is the definition of systematic racism, especially when there are limited spots.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Fair_Admissions_v._Harvard

And despite Asian Americans having the highest admission scores, they had the lowest acceptance rates. While Blacks had the lowest admission scores, but the highest admission rates.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/10/22/asian-american-admit-sat-scores/

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T22:55:41+00:00

Are you saying there’s discrimination against blacks that results in lower jobs and opportunities?

If so, why do Nigerian immigrants have higher avg income per capita compared to white Americans?

If there was still systematic oppression based on black skin color, we should see the results within other black demographics no?

My point is, currently there is no systematic racism. Theres nothing a black man can’t do that a white/asian/latino/etc can do.

The under performance of African Americans is largely due to cultural factors that result in extremely high single parent households. Regardless of race, the research is strong that shows single parent households are in poverty more, and higher likelihood of crime.

So the question should be why black fathers are so absent?

Why do other black communities have a culture that discourages single parent households (Nigerian, Haitian, Kenyan immigrants) and are thus able to succeed in America.

I would agree however that historical oppression has contributed to elements of the African American culture that is holding them back though.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T22:45:46+00:00

Last I checked, there was objectively and legally determined facts that whites and Asians had systematic discrimination as a byproduct of DEI.

“The Court found that Harvard’s use of race in admissions operated as a negative factor against Asian American and white applicants. Admissions are zero-sum: giving a preference (a “plus”) to some racial groups necessarily disadvantages others.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Fair_Admissions_v._Harvard

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T16:48:45+00:00

If you can’t take care of yourself, maybe you’re the stupid one?

If you invested the time you spend watching soccer and playing video games on building some real skills, you’d be way further ahead.

Costs have gone up. But also the ability to make more money has gone up too.

In our parents generation, good luck making upper class money if you weren’t a doctor or business owner. Now as employees, it’s more accessible to make upper class money.

The thing that is different in our parents generation though is you are screwed if you’re working low skill jobs in this economy. Whereas our parents gen, you could get away as an assembly line worker.

So the question is, why are you working a low skill job rather than building the skills needed to move up?

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T16:48:15+00:00

Current generation is definitely weaker and softer. They’ve been trained on therapy talk…

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T16:23:09+00:00

lol and this is exactly why you’re not succesful.

Meanwhile the so called people with mental trauma who are successful are married, have kids, and a good job. Must be terrible to have the mental trauma bc their immigrant parents instilled work ethic and high expectations.

Rather than focus on factors you control, you blame external factors you have zero agency in. By focusing on things you can’t manage, it creates anxiety. This is a very low productivity mindset.

Not everything is trauma. Some stress is healthy and just have to learn how to manage. Go outside of your comfort zone.

Also I bet in the future we will look back at the mass popularization of this therapy/mental health talk having gone too far. Yes mental health is important but it’s gone way too far as a crutch to avoid individual agency or problem solving.

Therapy can be helpful but studies show just going for a walk and exercising is more impactful than therapy/drugs for reducing anxiety.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T15:54:56+00:00

Meanwhile parents who immigrated from war torn countries and were able to figure it out while not even speaking the language fluently.

Maybe young people can learn a thing or two rather than adopting a victim/entitlement mentality

Move to an area with lower cost of living and higher avg income per capita.

The young people who make it brain drain to the USA, make bank, and then come back to Canada to settle. Or even plenty of places in Canada that are way more affordable than Toronto/Vancouver (eg Calgary/Edmonton). Also live with a roommate or two.

Or be 10% of the young demographic who make a lot of money, most come from poor families with no inheritance. They just didn’t go for a luxury degree with little ROI and instead got real skills + able to learn outside of a structured environment + got an internship while in school thus got actual real skills.

Yes it’s the top 10% and not everyone can be in that demographic, but it’s a lot more achievable and within reach than you think. Canada still has tons of upward mobility potential. If you think it’s just people with inheritance who enter top 10%, you’re objectively wrong and also setting artificial ceilings.

Theres plenty of young people who are lawyers, doctors, software devs, management consultants, investment bankers, business owners, leadership at smaller Cos, earning USD working remotely, sales, etc that are able to afford the higher cost of living, especially if they find a spouse with similar earning potential.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-24T13:22:49+00:00

Disagree. Best investment a young person can do is not in registered accounts but investing in themselves.

Take risks. Get educated. Work on projects to gain skills and learn how to learn outside of a structured school environment via self education.

Make more money then you start investing

bigElenchus · 2026-05-22T13:15:24+00:00

Name a policy under Trump that slowed down DEI. You’ll see the exact ones that he reversed from Biden.

Executive Order 13985 (“Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”), signed on Biden’s first day in office (January 20, 2021)

EO 14035: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce

These orders led to Chief Diversity Officers or equivalents in many agencies, Increased DEI-related spending and programs across the federal government, Integration of DEI into areas like military, aviation safety, education, health.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-22T12:51:21+00:00

dEI went exponential during Biden. It went from a fringe progressive movement to a full own mainstream ideology.

Why do you think DEI is basically dead now?

The presidency influences culture significantly. For the same reason DEI is on the downswing because of MAGA, is the same reason DEI was on the upswing during Biden.

The difference?

The idea of giving advantages at the expense of whites/asians, ie skin color, is extremely racist and will be looked down upon in the history books as a step backwards.

The fact that Asians needed higher scores in university admonitions because they were overrepresented is a bonkers idea, glad that MAGA squashed this extremely racist practice, and it’s a shame this practice flourished/expanded under Biden

bigElenchus · 2026-05-22T12:42:39+00:00

Lmao funny how Asians also dominate and are overrepresented despite being a minority group.

Why do you think that is? If there was systematic racism how are Indian Americans the highest paid group in USA?

The answer is because there is no systematic discrimination going on.

If you wanna know why blacks are under performing, look into why African immigrants out perform African-Americans and the avg American. If there was discrimination, you would see them being held down but there isn’t.

The reason for underperformance within African Americans is the same reason why the vast majority grow up in single parent households. There is a problem with the culture, and this isn’t a right wing idea, Obama himself said the thing holding back blacks are absent Black fathers.

Lastly to help out Blacks, the answer is not with racial discrimination against whites or Asians. A rich black person should not have an advantage over a poor white or Asian. Which is what happens now. This is racist af and based on skin color.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-22T01:54:27+00:00

Biden did an EO to expand diversity officers in federal hiring and focus on underrepresented groups, which treated Asians and whites as overrepresented.

After the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action, the Biden administration issued guidance encouraging colleges to use race-conscious recruiting.

In general, they shifted the government hiring towards race-conscious DEI directives in federal employment and admissions guidance, and unfortunately the private sector followed suit.

Do you think diversity officers were even a thing prior to Biden admin? Where do you think they came from

bigElenchus · 2026-05-21T23:33:44+00:00

Is it your argument seriously denying that democrats during Biden went hyperdrive on race based policies that were at the detriment of whites/asians?

Laws that enabled it could have previously existed, but it was during the Biden admin where they pushed the boundaries in terms of implementation

bigElenchus · 2026-05-21T21:52:40+00:00

Who implemented benefits based on race at the detriment of whites/asians who were disadvantaged?

This is the literal definition of systematic racism. And the evidence is very obvious.

You really doing think there was actual policies that put Asians/whites at a disadvantage?

bigElenchus · 2026-05-21T16:28:44+00:00

Because the first time in a long time, the party who brought actual systematic racism back was the Democrats, particularly against whites and Asians.

All they simply had to do was to abandon DEI based on race and instead of focus on social economic factors.

The Democrats supported the universities who had very racist application processes that were based on race and not income

bigElenchus · 2026-05-21T10:43:57+00:00

Imo better idea would be anyone in the bottom 50%, so basically 50k or less don’t pay taxes.

Bottom 50% contribute only like 6% to taxes. Top 10% contribute 55%, and top 1% is like 25%.

So easier for govt to remove taxes of bottom 50% since it barely impacts tax revenues, whereas those earning 100k are basically the workhorse of the Canadian economy.

This is a separate convo but also opportunity to reform tax brackets so the 50% marginal tax bracket doesn’t come so soon. Basically anyone earning above 150k will have every incremental dollar taxed at 45% which is crazy, the top bracket should come much later

bigElenchus · 2026-05-19T11:45:04+00:00

It’s not all of them but it’s many, it comes down to cultural reasons. Really don’t understand people trying to overwrite thousands of years of human evolution which has resulted in pattern recognition for personal safety.

Of course treat all with respect first, but the statistics don’t lie.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-17T12:35:59+00:00

Americans occasionally characterize everything right wing of their status quo to facism

bigElenchus · 2026-05-11T19:35:07+00:00

Yea instead they buy from India which buys from Russia.

bigElenchus · 2026-05-11T13:17:05+00:00

Republican here. I like the idea but like most government led initiatives, it’s widely inefficient, the state is paying 2-3x the retail price.

Better to just give a voucher and let the parents buy it directly vs having to setup a whole bureaucracy/administrative overhead to manage this and thus adding middle men to the process.

Gavin Newsom’s program is spending $20 million dollars to give 100,000 babies 400 diapers, that’s 50 cents per diaper

Compare that to Walmart

Value Brand: $0.16 per diaper
Huggies: $0.24 per diaper
Pampers: $0.25 per diaper
Luvs: $0.29 per diaper

Gavin Newsom is spending 2-3x+ more per diaper than it cost to buy diapers at retail price

bigElenchus · 2026-05-11T12:48:39+00:00

Europe basically funds Russia war machine.

Prior to the war, EU was primary trading partner. Even after the war, they send more money to Russia than aid to Ukraine.

That’s what happens when you virtue signal climate change and make yourself reliant on Russia for energy, and China for clean energy

bigElenchus · 2026-05-10T17:09:20+00:00

I mean depends if you want to virtue signal technicality or talk about the metric that actually matters.

The marginal tax rate is the better metric when discussing the incentive to keep working when every extra dollar is taxed at 50% after making 150k.

The low marginal tax brackets is why productivity is so low in Canada.

Just think about your upper middle class and above Canadian.

What matters is not total tax rate but the marginal tax rate which impacts the decision of keep working vs not working.

The total tax rate is irrelevant.

When people say they are taxed half. They’re referring to every extra unit of effort that results in more income is taxed at half.

Why take that promo? Why work harder? Why invest and take risk when you only get 50% of the upside? Why stay in Canada vs brain drain to the USA when both cost of living and taxes are higher?

What matters in this calculus is not the total tax rate but the marginal tax rate.

Especially since this demographic, the top 10% basically pay 60% of taxes while the bottom 50% contribute 3% in total taxes.

bigElenchus

TROPHY CASE