Ramit Sethi argues the American economy is rigged for the ultra-wealthy, but most people accept it because they're kept angry and distracted by myths like "God will provide" and the belief that wealth equals merit. He calls this the "temporarily embarrassed millionaire" problem: people think they can simply escape to join the rich, so they never question how the rules are actually rigged.
You can keep people angry. You can keep them distracted. Because if they actually looked at what was going on and how the wealthy and ultra-wealthy have truly rigged the game in their own favor, there would be a revolution. If you have grown up religious and you heard certain things like God will provide over and over from your family, from your church, from the people at school, then you start to believe it. You actually don't even question it. Imagine the same thing happening, but with money. The idea that the ultra-wealthy are some sort of almost omniscient people in our society, because if they're wealthy, surely they must deserve it. And me, even though I'm not wealthy, in fact, I'm struggling just to pay for my Arco gas. Well, I'm just a temporarily embarrassed millionaire. Free me of the shackles that prevent my success, and I too will join them in nirvana. That's basically how American culture works, when in reality the game has been rigged to take the wealth that is created in America and disproportionately advantage the wealthy.
