Third Base Post 1

To be honest, I'm not too sure how I feel about the actions of the author. One part of me understands why he gave away his wealth. At the same time, another part of me shouts that he's being really stupid. These feelings aside, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't enjoy it in the same carefree way that I enjoy reading about adventurers and people who overcome obstacles. I enjoyed the book in a way that I'm not entirely sure about how to describe. The book really forced me to think and come to terms with many of the issues about wealth that had been sitting somewhere in my head. In a sense, Collins asked the right questions, and gave the correct anecdotes that got readers thinking.

I particularly like how Collins outlines the idea that people often seek to become the object of their own hatred, when he asks a group of people whether they despise the 1%, and whether they would want to be part of the 1%. This anecdote interested me greatly because I used to always think about this exact set of questions, and struggled to come up with a reasoning behind why we tend to associate those within the top 1% negatively, yet strive so hard to become part of that group. After a lot of deliberation, however, I came to realize that in terms of the world population, most Americans are in the 1%. The annual salary from the federal minimum wage would give someone enough wealth to be within the top 5% of earners worldwide, while an annual salary over $40,000 would put someone well within the top 1%.

On a completely separate note, while I do believe that the poverty rate and wealth gap within America is an issue, I don't think that Collins is tackling the issue in a productive way. His idea of promoting progressive populism in order to "get people to look up the economic ladder to target their populist wrath at the richest 1 percent" is hypocritical. He condemns regressive populism, where minorities are blamed for issues behind poverty and wealth without any evidence, and then proceeds to blame the 1% without any support. This type of logic is akin to saying that these corporations and individuals are becoming wealthy by taking money out of the accounts of other people. When examined case by case, it is clear that there are many factors that contribute to why families and individuals are below the poverty line.

All in all, I agree with some statements made by Collins, and disagree with others. It's interesting to see these issues from the perspective of someone who was in the 1%. So far, the book has made me think about ways to articulate my conceptions about wealth that I previously had feelings about but didn't necessarily know how to convey, and has made the book so far enjoyable.