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Let The Super Rich Have It All
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You don't deserve or need nice things. Don't chase the rich man's life.
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Transcript
The Secret and Its Implications
00:00:01
Speaker
I've got
00:00:08
Speaker
a secret. I've got a secret. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm a piece of shit. I've got a secret.
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm a piece of shit. I've got a secret. My grandpa touched me.
00:00:43
Speaker
Are your synapses firing? Do you have enough brain cells to talk about the topic I brought up? Because it's going to require some thought. You're not going to like it, dude. You're not going to like my take, which might make for a better show. All right, well, we'll see.
00:00:56
Speaker
But you're going to set the table for the listener. All right, listener, you piece of fucking shits.
The Divide: Wealth and Experience
00:01:03
Speaker
I have a ah take around letting the rich have the things that they can afford and the rest of us find alternatives.
00:01:12
Speaker
And some examples of this are, if you just look at Disney, Disney is now stratified in a way. By the way, I heard this term stratification on a podcast today. I was like, oh shit, that applies to like...
00:01:23
Speaker
So many things. I don't know what that is at all. It just means that if you look at how the economy is structured, like the rich get, and it's obvious, this is no brainer. The rich get access.
00:01:35
Speaker
They get better access to everything that the majority of the people might be interested in. um So Disney, Disney world is a great example. a lot of parents want to take their kid to Disney world and, And there are all these like sort of upgrades that you can get now. So rich people can fast pass through. And it's it's a very demeaning thing when you think about It's like all of a sudden this you're in this line and this fucking polo wearing fuck.
00:02:00
Speaker
runs through with his family and and cuts in front of you. There's stuff like that, but even just like ah your standard sporting event, the box seats, the the court side, all of the good stuff is accessible to those that can pay more. And and there's a logic to that that we all agree on. but But my overarching argument is for people that can't afford it, stop chasing it, find alternatives because by and large, the stuff we've done in society to make ourselves happier hasn't worked based on statistics around happiness in America. It hasn't worked. So stop chasing Vail Resorts, go find a local sledding hill, get some buddies and sled down and and have a hoot of a time for free. Don't go to an NBA game, fuck the NBA. Go to a sweet high school game for five, eight bucks because you're right there on the court. You're seeing good talent. And I think more people just need to like steer clear of the rich.
00:02:57
Speaker
Let them do the fucking thing in their little secluded area. Let them have it. Go have it. And everybody else will build community. That's
Community vs. Wealth
00:03:08
Speaker
the take. Now, before I'm called a hypocrite, dude,
00:03:12
Speaker
Everything I've done to like save money, to retire early, has been about um building a middle-class lifestyle. I don't really do any of that stupid shit. You know I'm not... i'm not It doesn't appeal to me.
00:03:23
Speaker
But I get that there are things like if you love Taylor Swift and you want to drop two grand and on that shit, and that's like your dream and that's like your main only big expense you're ever going to have, fine. Yeah.
00:03:35
Speaker
but don't chase everything else. I think this episode is to just talk about the rich, having what they want to have and having it by themselves with nobody else around. Go fuck themselves in that space.
00:03:48
Speaker
Yeah. Go, go to an NBA game with a 50 seater, 50 seater, just as exclusive with a bunch of rich guys. And that's what you're playing for because the, everybody else has abandoned your stupid fucking sport because you charge too much.
00:04:03
Speaker
Yeah, i I thought you, I actually, i'm I'm proud of that. I'm proud of you for that take. I like the take. i I thought your take was like more like, hey, Jeff Bezos, go sit on your yacht and fuck yourself. But this is more like that little thing of like making the rats be competitive and the guy with 300 grand and his fucking fast track is out fighting the, what the rest of us or something like that a little bit.
00:04:28
Speaker
But the whole fucking idea like you have to go to... yeah I mean you go to Disneyland, you already spent 20 grand and then and then you gotta watch some fuck who spent 28 grand go buy ya. And then it's like, we're only gonna be here once. You feel the pressure, like ah you gotta do it.
00:04:44
Speaker
And you've seen that on the faces of families. You've seen that like stress, that just brutal stress of like, I want to give my kids something special. I want them to fit into society and I want them to measure up.
00:04:57
Speaker
And it's not possible. I just see it everywhere. It's not possible. And so we have to... get back to creating community. And that's where the health is too. That's where the mental health is, the support.
00:05:08
Speaker
Let the rich fucking dick around with Aspen, Colorado. You don't need to go there. Fuck Aspen. Fuck the Hotel Jerome. Fuck the whole scene. The whole scene is bullshit. The pizza slice there is what? It's like 18 bucks, bro?
00:05:21
Speaker
Come on. Come on, Matt. You could go to where we go, dude. Ski Cooper's dope. 40 bucks a day. It's wonderful. But I do like, I fucking, you know, I live, Bale's dope. I live there. You can do a ski pass for a thousand bucks or something like that. Like you can do shit like that.
00:05:38
Speaker
You can, but you live, didn't you live there though in support of essentially the rich lifestyle? Like you were living there as a worker in the ski snowboard scene. Yeah, wasn't hanging out at the whatever fancy, the Sun and Al person. But yeah, i wasn't, I'm just saying, i mean, the other side is like those places are dope. they they I think the issue there for me is like,
00:06:01
Speaker
I don't know when's last time you went to Vail, but they redid the whole fucking place, and it's, like, untouchable now. And it was kind of like, you had paradise there. It was still always for, like, rich people, but you had, like, this paradise. You didn't have to make it an inaccessible, fucked-up, cookie-cutter, wannabe European place. It's, like, the drive for all this crap, even Disneyland, you know, Disney World is probably a...
00:06:25
Speaker
cool idea by walt disney 60 years ago
Challenging Economic Norms
00:06:28
Speaker
whenever they started now it's it's uh a publicly traded company that's like looking for revenue streams and every so they've got a everything got everything's i all a la carte and you and you can always go the next step i mean the movie theater now is it's got a vip section it's like why they why did they do that the the the movies used to be like almost a communal thing Like, all sit in the same room regardless of income level, pay a couple bucks, and, like, you're gonna sit there with other people, alright?
00:06:54
Speaker
Share the experience. Right. And they they do it with everything. There's like an analyst saying, how can we extract more from the different tiers of people who have money? We want the the the poor folks, we want them to strive as hard as fucking humanly possible to come and access this special event. And we want the rich to just, you know, not even think about the value of money and whether something's worth it. I can tell you right now that going to see Taylor Swift for anything in the four figures, it's that's not worth it.
00:07:27
Speaker
Relative to the entertainment that had come out over all the years, it's not worth it. Now, somebody's going to scream and go, well not to you. Not to you, Lance. It's fundamentally not worth it. There are alternatives of entertainment. I listen to people who sound really close to her.
00:07:45
Speaker
You can go see them in small theater for 40 bucks. You're never going to sell that fucking that, though. No, of course not. That's why this this rant is... This whole discussion is tough. Well, that particular one is tough.
00:07:59
Speaker
I mean, I've been selling to my kids for years that Disney World sucks. And now they're 12 and 14 and they don't give a fuck about Disney World. but I did too, like yeah. and how you got how It does suck. like We did go to Universal for one day and we we had a friend tell us that... ah Like you don't buy the quick passes. What you do is everyone goes on the single line. but But they'll let your... For most rides there's like...
00:08:23
Speaker
there's like an odd number of seats something. They'll always let you go with your kids if you're in the single line. So we were like walking, fucking running through rides without the quick pass, just rolling through the singles line. And then I would end up sitting my son. And that was like an expert who told us that. It probably saved us 1,500. Because in the moment, it was like, we got one day there. It was like panic.
00:08:41
Speaker
Fuck, all the lines are like three hours. Like, we got to do it. And then someone's like, don't do it. Someone texted us. Yeah. the Poor man's hack. But the stress, yeah the stress to keep up. with something that has got has gotten ridiculous it used that used to be an accessible place but a lot of things used to be accessible basketball games um going to see it like you said the movies yeah all music uh you know disneyland what about your local like every at like that every town has a local local amusement park and you're like that's 300 bucks
00:09:14
Speaker
to take your family so it's like ia and then then Disneyland can be like well we're not that so we're double that you know it's like it makes sense it's uh yeah but how do you sell it like it's the kids thing a little bit like I think there's a lot of guilt in parenting now that you're not providing like the other people or something that's that's where it comes from Or even for your pets, same thing.
00:09:38
Speaker
There's guilt, but I think there's also needing to be a reckoning of like what actually you can afford. And just as an example of where I see happiness a lot, I ride my bike.
00:09:50
Speaker
If I do a weekend ride and Sarah and I are together, whatever, we'll ride our bikes past a bunch of parks. What do I see out there every weekend for free? I see these huge Latin families hanging out,
00:10:03
Speaker
playing games cooking up all kinds of food all of them are chilling having a great time literally having babies at the park just just i i don't have that much i couldn't get that i couldn't get anybody in my network very or let's say very few people to come out to a a barbecue go to the park yeah you'd be like oh you what we're gonna go sit in the park yeah we're all shooting for some goal that has turned out to be very isolating.
00:10:35
Speaker
I look at my own experience, like I wanted to insulate myself from risk. I wanted to make sure I could retire early. i want to do all these things. Half of it was good, the other half was extremely isolating and limiting in the sense that it requires you to kind of just structure your life around accessing those things that make you better in in the capitalistic space.
00:10:57
Speaker
We're missing out on a whole aspect of community that is free. I guess that's just the way it is now, but I'm just saying, what if we resisted this striving?
Debt, Pressure, and Societal Values
00:11:09
Speaker
We could still have a good job. Yeah, I don't know if they have tax on the rich though. Yeah, it is. Well, it's it's more like attack on that sort of just this constant, oh, we got it. so You know, all the all the major major sports where it's like everything's so expensive now, but you go the game and you can get ah some food that you're like, why do I need to eat this here? Like ah like a brisket sandwich with or whatever. And you're like ah theyre they're like, we're just trying to improve the fan experience. Yeah.
00:11:37
Speaker
meaning maximize every every head that goes in there. It's like, how do we get another one hundred bucks out of them? Right? Right. Right. Good business. But it seems like you're more, you're more against that than the guy. Are you, I guess you're also against the guy who's who's like, great. Now I can eat a five-star meal at the hoops game, sit on the court and have bottle service.
00:11:56
Speaker
Yay. Right. That's what I'm i'm a little bit railing against. But if you look at it it is economics. It is supply and demand. Some analysts for all of these businesses is figured out ways to extract more.
00:12:07
Speaker
But what happens is I think the rich define trends because everybody is is aspiring to have money and to be rich and to have the appearance of some great, wonderful lifestyle. That's something obvious that we've been dealing with what since the eighty s But it hasn't panned out for most people. I mean, half of the country in America is is struggling and and desperate to figure out how they get through.
00:12:35
Speaker
Hasn't panned out. or You mean financially or like a well-being? well well Overall well-being and financially. But yet everybody at every stratification level is striving to do some of these same things.
00:12:48
Speaker
like oh yeah, I want to get the best tickets. I hear stories of people, want to get the best tickets to that ah and NBA game because I just love the Lakers. When they play the Nuggets, I'm going to go, i'm going to spend $600.
00:13:00
Speaker
six hundred bucks now this is a this Might never see LeBron again. Yeah, exactly. This is a family that brings in 62,000 in total a year. and And what people will criticize me for, it's an obvious thing, is like, well well, that's their dream, dude. Let them do it. And I'm like, we have a whole society of people chasing these absurd dreams that just devastate their lives in the long run. And so what I would love to see, because I do think the super rich in particular are disgusting.
00:13:28
Speaker
I think that a lot of the things that they value and and pursue are disgusting. Uh, there it's all about just showing it's a, it's a show off event. Let them have it and let them have to compare against each other.
00:13:42
Speaker
And there's nobody poor around. Everybody else is going to be somewhere else. I, I, but who, I don't know who's that. Who's the blame? Like this. I mean, the sad truth is the 62,000 a year guy. We'll call him Matt right now. Uh, he's, he feels some pressure,
00:14:04
Speaker
It's like he feels some pressure that he's not he's not it he's not in the, you know, it's not part of it if he's not doing that or something. It's like, I mean, I don't know if I have a problem like you do. Like, if a guy is ah if a guy's got the money and that's what he likes to do you have a problem with that?
00:14:20
Speaker
Like, guy's got, guy like loves the fucking Grateful Dead something. Whatever. Taylor Swift. Broncos. Like, the guy's got the money who can do it, not finance it, not go into debt, not use a credit card.
00:14:34
Speaker
but you you have a problem with that as well? It depends. And obviously this is these are opinions. These are my opinions and then everybody wouldn't agree with them. But like I think some of the tastes that we've developed in this capitalistic society that's always asking for or wanting us to desire more and more, some of those tastes are absolutely horrible for society as a whole, I think.
00:14:59
Speaker
It's bad. There's stuff that's bad for the environment. It's just like excess, extreme excess. Case in point, you're having a graduation party and somebody hires multiple food trucks for a thousand a pop.
00:15:12
Speaker
Crazy overboard, right? Yep. Like, who loses there? and I guess that's what it- I mean, I hear- it's like something would not do. Although there are things where like, well, wanna have- whatever, wanna have a nice event or something. But who's like, who loses in that situation in your in your eyes? Like the- that- that thing where it's like, ah, well some parent went fucking nuts for this graduation party, but was it, you know, was it fun? Was- what's- who loses in that situation, you think?
00:15:38
Speaker
I think ah overall society, and it's a longer term effect, loses in that it's a display that it feels like the bulk of society has been and unable to resist each and every one of those upgrades.
00:15:53
Speaker
what What is meaningful to give to your kid as a present or as something special? Or what is meaningful to... have a party for your wife or whatever it may be, all of that has scaled really far up, right? If I said, hey, hey hey let's go to Loveland this weekend and and we're going to ski. What?
00:16:16
Speaker
My birthday? Loveland? That piece of shit ski resort? So I'm just saying that the things that... or what has happened is in the psyche is that nothing is good enough, not only for the people that can afford it, but for the people that can't.
00:16:31
Speaker
Right. They have a sense of guilt, right? How about throw your wife's 50th birthday party in the park, like the Latinos? If I, if I could and get the attendance, I'd,
00:16:43
Speaker
Like if I could just go there on a weekend and have the attendance in that kind of community on a consistent basis, like truly, I'm not exaggerating. I'd pay thousands of dollars for that versus some sort of souped up whatever Kona ice truck having fresh snow cones and shit. I don't know.
00:17:01
Speaker
Well, the I think the idea is like, you you don't have, it's like, well, we can go out there and for nothing, bring some lawn chairs, and it's you're going to have the same amount of fun. some Maybe some burgers or some shit, but like, you have the same amount of fun, but we will would never know it because it's like, what? No, here's what's here's the way you have a party, right? You got to maybe get a pig, a whole pig.
00:17:24
Speaker
and uh you gotta you gotta do that gotta fry whatever they do slow cook it for days and then have a chef yeah it's you'll get the same out of it we we've lost that We have lost it. And so I think the the pendulum swung way too far in terms of
Power and Influence of the Wealthy
00:17:41
Speaker
aspirations. But what I don't like is when the the the part of our economic base that truly can't afford it, they keep pursuing this stuff to their detriment. Yeah, I feel that pressure.
00:17:54
Speaker
Yeah, how many people go to Europe and now because of the pressure? they go Everybody can go to Europe now. I've railed on this before, but like truly not everybody can go to Europe or should go to Europe.
00:18:06
Speaker
I'm not here to steal away your dreams. I'm just trying to say, stop chasing the rich. That's not where it's at. Start looking down to the poor who connect on a community basis yeah and actually have friends, actually have family who'll stick by them. That's what's missing.
00:18:21
Speaker
Do you know, are do you know like I assume this is a dumb question, but like is the sort of the debt, like personal debt in the US like out of control? It had gotten better after the pandemic ah because of the free money, I believe. But it's the savings rate is dropping rapidly right now. And then credit card debt is increasing quite rapidly at the moment, I believe.
00:18:45
Speaker
And this is all part of it because you got to blow it out, right? Well, there's also like life is hard, right? Yeah. so For the lower end, that's just inflation and food and gas and and the everyday things that people need.
00:18:58
Speaker
But I've noticed, ah I've just noticed, let's just say go walk in my neighborhood and I have a varied neighborhood of of some nice houses and some lower end houses. I just notice the choices people make in the context of the bigger picture sometimes, and it annoys me. And of course, I'm judging. So it's what I do. But like a ramshackle, rundown-ass house with a $50,000, $60,000 red candy apple Ford F-150 truck out front, and I just go, what the fuck, dude? I know it's their truck, dude. Don't tell me it's like, it's a friend visiting. That's not something they probably should have, but who am I say that they shouldn't have it?
00:19:37
Speaker
Yeah. And they might be like, it's awesome, dude. I love it. is probably awesome. Maybe, but then don't come crying, you know, when you go bankrupt because you got a, an yeah ER bill that's too big. Yeah. Or just life is hard, man. It's like, well, you can make it easier on yourself.
00:19:54
Speaker
About that truck. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah Well, I was all prepared to tell you, i don't care. And that's what I figured you'd be like, here we go again. Let's make it personal though.
00:20:05
Speaker
Let's make it personal. Well, I don't care about, like, I know you have an issue with like sort of the billionaires crowd. And I'm like, I i would say that I can't spend that much time worrying about those guys.
00:20:17
Speaker
They did well with their companies. The issue, primary issue I have is that a lot of people for many years were like worshiping these guys as the geniuses of the world. And then you listen to them talk and it's like, hey man, stick to your tech or engineering project because you you shouldn't have any influence on society. Don't give them the mic.
00:20:34
Speaker
Yeah. Don't give you the mic. that that That was the main issue. And and then the other piece is the the new billionaires of this era. They have no philanthropic bone in their body.
00:20:45
Speaker
They're not the old era where they were building institutions and libraries and for the community. It is truly, how can I buy an island, separate myself from the poor's?
00:20:55
Speaker
You can keep Silicon Valley. All of you fucking move there. I just want to pull and and pull away all the people that might work for you and have them come to St. Louis or to Denver. And we we build a ah strong community that everybody can kind of I mean, this is obviously a utopian type of viewpoint, but.
00:21:15
Speaker
Push the rich in ah some weird fucking skyscraper city and they can all do their, they can have robots and they can all do their fucking billionaire things. I don't want to be around you and you don't get to access real people anymore.
00:21:29
Speaker
No real people. You just have to deal with each other. That's what I want. How about that? We like that. That's perfect. I feel like that's already happening. Those people are isolated from us, even though they're controlling us. Like ah I'm not, hey well, I would say I'm not hanging out with billionaires, but, um, they're so hated.
00:21:48
Speaker
They're so hated. They have to have security details, huge security detail now. Yeah. Oh man. Somebody, who was that? i was listening to somebody maybe it was another podcaster like people are saying like like like there's actually a lot of people that are really like feel like that guy luigi whatever that guy did who killed the uh healthcare care ceo and everyone's like oh man if i met that guy i'd be like thank you not not uh it's like oh that's a little extreme yeah over the top dude but yeah but uh
00:22:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i I don't know. I just thought those guys, i think the other thing bothers me a little bit, like what you're talking about. I mean, you always everything you do now, you have choices and there's always like these fucking levels and you're like, oh, I'm I'm not doing it right. You know, and it's always like how we should do it this way.
00:22:37
Speaker
And when I'm completely isolated, you know, from from any like outside influence, I'm just with my kids. we'll just go do some fun shit for free and no one really cares but if they're kind of we're kind of like in the mix of other things it's like well we should can we go here it might be like well let's go to starbucks and we can all get a nine dollar drink of sugar and you know like and you're just like how this this like the system creeps into your life where it's all these little add-ons that just shut your ass down that's you know it does it's crazy it totally creeps in and then like the uh pressure the pressure is brutal
00:23:13
Speaker
um I was just having my son just was like, I said, order some new basketball shoes. He's like, oh, yeah, I'm going get these ones are cheap as fuck. um I kind of like these, though. Cheap as fuck. So how much were they? 147.
00:23:25
Speaker
I said, what, bro? He's like, seriously, I promise most of these are like 240, 247. But like having a values conversation with your kid is like, hey, no, we value.
00:23:37
Speaker
um we we value being thoughtful with our money and and putting more energy into our friends and family and and doing things together. So we value time more than we do going in and earning more money to pay for consumer goods so you can have your $250 shoes. That's an impossible conversation. Like it's just like...
00:23:56
Speaker
what nine, 10 year old, or even 17 year old is going to go, Oh, okay. So, so you want us to have a good time with our time. Well, he got it though. I mean, it sounds stupid in the context of what shoes cost these days, but he's obviously conscious of it.
00:24:13
Speaker
he He actually is. He's like though that particular shoe. um Yeah. But he knew, he knew like, He wasn't just like, whatever the fuck I want. He was conscious of, yeah, he liked the shoe so it worked out, but it seems like, at least from what you just said, he was conscious of pricing and he wasn't just like, yeah, I don't care. Like, the shoe, this shoe is dope, it seems like.
00:24:37
Speaker
So you got through some, one way or another, somebody got through him. Or maybe he's just born with it. Maybe he's born with it, dude. i hope mike Luckily, my wife and I are on the same page. Dude, i I don't know if you've ever been to a country club environment. We were exposed to it a couple times here recently. And it's not a high-end country club down the road here.
00:24:57
Speaker
And I just, it really triggers me. And because it's such a symbol of stratification and and these people clamor for it. I think it's like 150 grand to buy in and then it's like seven grand a month.
00:25:10
Speaker
So you can golf and you can get served food and shit at this like club. 150 is no joke. Must pretty nice. Clubhouse. It's not that nice, to be honest. Maybe now 150 is a mid-range country club. Well, I think Cherry Hills is like 1.5 million or something. It's so ridiculous to buy in.
00:25:28
Speaker
ah But the the point is, like, I'm having a hard time now because I guess my values have gotten so jaded in a different direction, I guess. I i don't know if it's jaded or...
00:25:39
Speaker
If it's stopped, you just pissed off when you're there and just upset the whole time. Well, I can't, I'm getting a point where i can't even understand who, who would strive for that. It's just so not my vibe. Like what would make you strive for it? and And if I break it down, it's like, well, people like to golf, dude. People like to have a safe um place with flowers everywhere. And it's a nice place. People like that. People like the Broadmoor and the Springs, but i'm I'm sort of like, but who would want that? So then I go to the families that I know that belong there. And I go, well,
00:26:08
Speaker
Oh, my God. you guys they just They just annoy me. They're the type of people that everything is about going and doing the next thing. And I don't relate anymore. And even though I have money, I don't have as much as these people, but I have enough money to do things.
00:26:23
Speaker
It doesn't appeal.
Exclusivity and Personal Values
00:26:25
Speaker
doesn't appeal. I wish that was the case. more broadly and we could kind of segregate the rich in their stupid gated communities and maybe never see them but don't you think though in their own way they're trying they're after the same thing that you're talking about they're after the same thing the mexicans in the park or i i shouldn't say they're mexicans we don't know that uh the latin folk in the park they're they're after the same thing that's just the how they how they do it they think there's like a community there at the country club that they've their kids can run around they're safe and they can sit there and talk about their fucking trip to Bora Bora I don't know where these people go but like and and for them they're like oh it's great we have this little community here and I see my friends do you think the authenticity spoiled though by the money
00:27:10
Speaker
Like the ah authentic connection? Well, yeah I'm not justifying it. I just think they probably have to, like, I think it almost goes back to your original point. It's like, it's unfathomable to just fucking do that same thing in the park or even at the public course.
00:27:24
Speaker
They're like, you can't do it there. and And in their head, they're like, this is where they find their community because it's the other normal options are not even thinkable. Like that's kind of what you're saying at the beginning of the show.
00:27:35
Speaker
ah so but i think and and that's why they go i mean there's other there are people that go there to say that they go there saying a little bit yeah yeah i suppose i suppose that's the community they want to build i think in large part to fuel business deals and things like that make connections i know why people go the one i belong to like it's if they think it's like well it is ah it is a bit of a status thing but it just makes it's like easy You go there, you fucking go work out, play tennis, have a beer, your kids run around with their friends, and everything's easy. And it's like, uh, the people I know that I'm friends with that aren't in that club make fun of the people there, are like, in a, like, look at those fucking...
00:28:19
Speaker
the word is fresa in Spanish for some reason rich uppity people are like called strawberries so look at those it's like look at those fresa fucks in in the indoor I love that and like it's like oh okay fresa it's like and And it's true, because there are people there that think they're like hot shit because they're there. It's pretty funny. But but they're there, like they like there's levels of people, there's people like spend all their time there, that's their whole life. There's people that just go there and like work during, you know, they'll go work out and they'll work during the day, use use the Wi-Fi, use the business meetings.
00:28:53
Speaker
And there's people that there because their kids take tennis lessons there. But, uh, so I, I mean, I get it I don't really like it that much. It's like, it was never my thing, but it, but it's like, I, now I belong there. So I, I work out there and my kids hang out there sometimes, but it is like, it's, I'm always like going, can we like, let's go to the park. Let's go to the park. Whether it people think it's the hood or let's go the court in the park or let's go do this or that.
00:29:19
Speaker
But it's just, ah there's something about like or the organization of those places, I think, that gets people. It's like the thoughtlessness of it. Yeah, of course. I mean, I didn't do this to focus on country clubs, but like. Well, no, i mean, it doesn't matter. It's all a symbol of the same stratification.
00:29:36
Speaker
What if it was, what sorry, not to cut you off, but what if it was, let's I don't know, 500 bucks down payment and it was 40 bucks a year or a month or a hundred? I mean, it's relative to like a Y, a YMCA or something. Yeah. But that's relative to the Costa Rican community too. I'm sure it's.
00:29:54
Speaker
No, no. I'm saying the country club you went to, like if there was something accessible, like a club, but it was, it was more like it, um it was something that's more affordable and kind of encouraged what you, what you're talking about. You'd like,
00:30:07
Speaker
would that Is it sort of the price point or is it like just the people that are walking around their stupid labeled clothes and just ah like annoying white people? is that Is that what it is? No, I don't even know if it's a price point. i don't i don't know.
00:30:21
Speaker
i Look, I get that. All of us want nice things. um All of us probably in some way or shape or form desire exclusivity. We want to be special.
00:30:33
Speaker
We want things to be easy. We want things food to be fresh, food to be nice. Everybody would probably desire that regardless of what their starting point is. It just never seems to end and there doesn't seem to be any natural resistance to that pursuit and any any supported resistance to that pursuit. So that if I were to say, it's it's so much harder to say, no, you know that's not really what I value spending money on.
00:31:02
Speaker
than to just be like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll we'll pay $390 to go to that Red Rocks concert. mean, when you think about that, mean, going to end up with fees. That's near $800. And after beers, you know, $900 for a concert?
00:31:16
Speaker
i that That stuff is just, that's fucked up. People shouldn't be trying to do that. That's not fair. Now, we're using events specifically, but but it could be anything. It's beauty standards. It's all just gotten pretty disgusting. And then it's at the expense, again, of,
00:31:31
Speaker
people feeling comfortable and confident to be around each other. Dude, I did a joke the other night that didn't work, but it was, ah I'm like, ah, feel pretty good. I got to eat, my loan came through at Five Guys, so I got to eat dinner tonight.
00:31:46
Speaker
We did a 30-year adjustable rate on my hamburger. ah so like but that's True. It bleeds into all parts of life. Like, it you know, this sounds like just normal.
00:31:57
Speaker
Working man crying, but we were like, oh, I'm gonna take my family of Florida. I'm five guys. 100 bucks. Absolutely. I had one hamburger and a drink in fucking St. Charles, Missouri. It's not like I was it was because I was in Manhattan.
00:32:12
Speaker
It's fucking I think it was 18 bucks. And I was like, I didn't get for fries. And I'm like, holy shit. ah Brutal. It's all driven up. yeah It's all driven up by by everybody chasing the same thing. There's certain things that rub me the wrong way when I just see them and I see how much people clamor it for. When I see the high school kids clamor for the 4.8 GPA so they can get into some exclusive college and um I see then people clamor for the high profile consulting jobs so they can go then buy the house in Cherry Hills and it just is a, they do seem like empty pursuits. And I've lived in that life to to a degree, right? i've Obviously, I've participated in this, and it's like a real conundrum to try to unwind it and figure out what is the what are the things that really fill you up, what what values really fill you up. I don't really buy anybody that says, I just like nice things, dude. It really makes me happy. I just like nice things. I really am suspicious of anybody that says shit like that.
00:33:13
Speaker
I mean, it sounds a little boring, but... Yeah, I'm okay with that. I just think... ah I mean, you you written you honestly... it's just i don't know, cliche, but you have to find it for yourself.
00:33:24
Speaker
And I have... Like I mentioned, I but have met people that really fucking love cars. They love them. course. They know everything about them. there are I know people that love golf. Like, ah it's it's amusing to me, like, i think it's just, it's more like, a just so foreign to a thought I would ever have.
00:33:41
Speaker
But someone is like, I really love hanging out at the country club. It's just, it's like, ah it sounds like the funniest thing ah ever, right? But for somebody that like, this is great. But like, who is like, oh I just love it.
00:33:53
Speaker
Hanging out at the at at the country club, you know? I don't, yeah. So what ah let's get it personal. What are your actual tastes and values? And what's a line where you kind of go, oh, this is starting to feel a little strivey or
Consumerism and Its Impact
00:34:08
Speaker
disgusting?
00:34:08
Speaker
Like what would i what would I shell out for? Just in general, what are your values and tastes? you would I know you went to Europe. I know you've you know you've done some things. you you You do value some vacation money spent.
00:34:20
Speaker
I mean, I've been in places... It's almost like it's it's nice when you because you're not like, i don't know, have you ever gone to a restaurant might be expensive or something you're holy shit, this is amazing. Whatever, it's like the place is cool, the food is good. you're like, I haven't had those experiences. Or even like a hotel. There's a few places that even in Costa Rica where I go, you know, I really don't give a shit about fancy hotels, but this place is fucking nice.
00:34:45
Speaker
But it's more like a boutique place that has a cool vibe. and And I'm like, now this makes sense to pay for. Like someone who's paying for a Ritz-Carlton, I'm like, what are you doing? it's To me, it's like buying a Michael Kors purse or some shit. It's like, why are you doing that? But like if you find this cool boutique hotel and you're like, oh, this is dope. And i want it and the person who has it, it's like, I hope they...
00:35:09
Speaker
I hope they're doing well, you know? So i I have experiences like that as I get older. I'm like, oh, this is actually pretty nice. I mean, I i used to love Vale, actually. and And when I go there now, like, it's it's it's nice to walk around. But it's you're like, what did they do this place? They completely fucked it up. It's, like, crazy fancy and nice. And it's, like, overwhelming. My kids are like, oh, my God, place amazing. Like, just because everything's brand new and it looks like a European village. And, like, there's ice skating rinks everywhere. don't know.
00:35:37
Speaker
places to buy ice cream and coffee and hot chocolate all, it's you know, 40 bucks a pop and... but I'm like, they fucked it up, like, you'll they'll you'll pass a line where it's not charming, it's just...
00:35:50
Speaker
it's just like gaudy and nice. I think that's what you and I don't like. and and the country club always feels like it's on the wrong side of that. Like always. it does. Yeah. But don't you think, do you feel, i should ask the question instead of rant some more, that that a lot of our common interests are sort of overdone now?
00:36:11
Speaker
like every aspect of everything that was kind of a common interest. Like if you go to a football game with a stratification yeah that you can find there to like exclude yourself and have a better and more special experience. one hundred percent.
00:36:25
Speaker
It's all just everywhere. It does everywhere you look. Yeah, even even like going to a professional sports game now, it's like, ah, I can't sit here with my friend or kid. There's like a nonstop like noise and and shit going on. And like you're like, just calm down. The experience that you think you're giving us, is it's been completely sabotaged.
00:36:44
Speaker
like that's a different vibe but like you used able talk right be in between like at timeouts just insane we used kind of like ah anything that's like slightly sketchy but cool like i don't know like the boston garden you know or fenway park or or like and we got over that and now everything even like yankee stadium or old mile high was like a shithole but charming and awesome you know and we got over that now everything is like ah it's got to have the but you know they they take out regular seating so they more boxes in there like yeah like and and all that and growth yeah profit growth and i'm just like i don't know maybe maybe we're just two old men but you're like i want to go see the broncos dude i got a box free free free prime rib and filet mignon and all you can fucking drink and it's like
00:37:33
Speaker
ah who cares you know like i'd rather be an old shitty mile high stadium freezing my balls off and and like it's a good game and everyone's kind of cold but getting into it screaming cheering for mecklenburg then be like up in the box like i i arrived wildwood edges is dope yeah and i valet my car you know but But even trying to go to a CU game, they were accessible when you went to school there. They put all these boxes in and everything.
00:38:02
Speaker
the students The students have trouble getting into sports in in these big schools now because they have farmed seats out to sponsors and Uber rich. And it's just everywhere you go.
00:38:13
Speaker
And so at some point, though, people that can't afford these things maybe should start looking for alternatives, I guess would be my overall hope or recommendation, either or.
00:38:24
Speaker
Yeah, or, I mean, I always see, like, i see people, Costa Ricans, they they end they go to the U.S. and they end up in a, they they always try to do, like, American shit, which is so funny to me, but it is like, you know, it's another country to them. So you go do what people do in that country. but So there'll be a shit they'll be, like, at the Nuggets game or wherever town they're in, the NBA game, and they're clearly in the upper deck.
00:38:47
Speaker
But they're, like, you know, sending pictures from there, and they're super excited and happy about it. And and that would that might be like ah an admission of failure to some gringos, people in the US. Like you're at the game and you're taking pictures in the upper deck. Up there up there in the cheap seats, you still dropped 200. But it's like, nope, got to get down.
00:39:11
Speaker
I've done it too though, man. I've been like, shit, I got one game to take my kids and i'm in the US. And I'm like, i can't i can't put them up there. I know. But what does it say about a society where you're constantly confronted with ah confronted by who has more, who can pay more, and who can access the best?
00:39:29
Speaker
And how do I fit into that? And it's just everywhere you go. Yeah. Education. <unk>s It's kind of disgusting. Yeah. yeah And how about these e-readers?
00:39:43
Speaker
Can't just have a book now.
00:39:47
Speaker
and you gotta be in the fucking first class I don't like e-readers by the way I'm gonna put that out there can't get used to yeah but it also goes back to like you shouldn't be worried about this Lance you should not be worried about it not worried about it but like we have a ah and this is is getting more and more validated we have some mental health and loneliness issues in the country And I think a lot of it stems from the underbelly of capitalism and people's, what seems to be an unending desire to pursue the max that they possibly can pursue.
00:40:27
Speaker
It's almost like self-sacrificial. It's almost self-sabotaging. Unless you reach, and ah unless you're super rich, unless you reach a point where it's like, ah or if you got lucky and your sensibilities were just not aligned with whatever floating on a yacht.
00:40:47
Speaker
There's a pressure of being in the US that I feel dress like so hard when I, it's like, remember when we young, we to go to Vegas and by like after two days, like I gotta get out of here. like i gotta leave. That's how I feel when I go visit, when I go to the US, like not necessarily on these trips, cause I'm, you know, I keep it tight, but when I'm with my kids, like we go to Denver and I'm like, I gotta to get the fuck out of here. Like the pressure,
00:41:11
Speaker
ah but of spending money is so it's so insane. And like you can't leave the house. You leave the house, like they're gonna find something they want to do, and then you're gonna be like, fuck, i shit I'm here. And then you're gonna get there, it's gonna be like, oh, it's 10 bucks.
00:41:24
Speaker
But if you wanna breathe in the building, it's 14 bucks. Or if you want, then i thirsty, then you want water. and you're like wow this is crazy everything now is is like in this scaled scaled like pricing thing that you're talking about it's it's like everywhere especially when your kids are a little younger you're going to those stupid like jump centers or ah you know any of that shit is all like get you can get in the door for a certain price but then you you uh you're you're theyre you're not getting out alive basically well and there's a special jump there's a yeah a special jump section that you can pay eight dollars more for they're just this is constant and then the kids are like it's great i mean it's it's great business because the kids are like come on let me do that fucking ride and you're just sitting there going fuck you you're not doing it i paid for two trampolines and that's what you get in this bitch and then they put like something on the ceiling but i don't know but the the pressure when i'm in colorado
00:42:19
Speaker
Even though I'm staying my parents and it's it's like, come on, we want to have fun. you know, let's let's go out to a restaurant. Oh, wow. That's crazy, man.
00:42:29
Speaker
I don't remember that when I was a kid. I remember we would go, we'd play cards, we'd sit there and play games with with my family. And then like on day four or five, maybe day six, we would do one restaurant thing.
00:42:43
Speaker
So we would go out as ah as a larger extended family yeah and the rest was hanging out and everybody and loved it. Maybe we went to the lake, went to the lake. It it's now like you gotta, uh, we booked golf, uh, top golf on Tuesday, And then we're going to go to Elitch's, the amusement park here in Colorado on a Wednesday and Thursday, we're going to go to a nice dinner at Elway's. You know, Elway's. Friday night, front row, of the Rolling Stones, the whole extended family. Exactly. There's no end to the, uh, to the chase.
00:43:17
Speaker
We're going to go eat at Elway's with Mick and, uh, and Rod. And then we're going to like, oh, okay. Yeah, it's it's pretty nuts. And if you get if you roll with like some people with some money, like my brother, it's even worse. Because because you're like, you can't. They're always like, no, we got it. We got it. It's well, you can't just be doing everything.
00:43:37
Speaker
You can't be paying for everything. But you're like, oh, God, here we go again. Fucking making it happen. It's so normal to to them. not Like I'm not saying just my brother, but for people that are in it, it's just like, it's not an option. Like there's no other option.
00:43:54
Speaker
It's not like they're thinking about It's just like, that's the way, that's the way it is. Right.
Socioeconomic Segregation and Community Loss
00:43:58
Speaker
To not go to those nice places to not send your kid to the private school would feel unsafe or it would feel counterproductive to striving in society.
00:44:10
Speaker
And yeah, we've, but we, but In the midst of all that, I think we've all lost a real sense of community. and And this is obvious to me now where it's just such a segregated mess from a socioeconomic perspective.
00:44:26
Speaker
And i don't I don't see us getting out of that. There's something about like, earn it like we don't we ah you you can get whatever you want now you don't have to earn it like and that and that comes across in so many different ways like pay for it right just you can pay for it like you don't have to become a professional athlete to get the jersey when you were young you couldn't just go get a real fucking professional jersey can just go get it now it's like you didn't have to get there they like the only people that should to wear professional jersey should be professionals
00:44:58
Speaker
I think. Right. So now like everything is like, oh, we want to do it like, like the rich or we want to do it like these people. It's like, I mean, I think that is in summary, kind of what you're saying, like, let them have it. It's like, it's like across the board.
00:45:11
Speaker
Right. It's like people finance, like you said, finance and expensive cars. It's like, you probably shouldn't get that unless you can really fucking get that, you know? Yeah. there And but here's that's why I don't have the problem with the rich, like the people that actually are rich that like nice things because they can.
00:45:27
Speaker
They can, but they're also the same people pulling the strings on the on the side of the business to extract more. Right. Well, not everyone is a fucking piece of shit who has money.
00:45:40
Speaker
i Many are, dude, and they just justify it. Some are. but In different ways. I mean, here's a great, let me give you an example, though, on the financial industry, and I'll let you fucking roll. So there's this big movement now to get average retail investors, you and I,
00:45:55
Speaker
to be able to invest in private equity. Private equity was this exclusive thing. You had to be an accredited investor. You had have net worth, at least, I don't know, back in the day of like over a million to access. And now they want to open it up to retail investors.
00:46:09
Speaker
That- Like pulled or- but Like if they pull it, like, like sorry, that's but like a thousand retail investors can come up with the minimum needed or something like that. Exactly. To do whatever business or financial venture they're doing. um Those are obviously pretty risky, illiquid types of investments. But the point, the larger point is that private equity was this exclusive thing and somebody came along and was like, oh yeah, the other the the poor's want it too, we can give it to them. Now, of course, they're gonna get a lower quality version of it and it's likely not gonna be in their best interest as an investor, but they but they they're striving, they want that next good that next good thing. And that's a that's one of those things that the average person wouldn't think about as striving. They're just, oh, they're telling me I need some private equity.
00:47:02
Speaker
But it's again, it's a part of the same larger problem. I assume though it's being pitched as like power to the people. Everyone has, ah should have a chance at private equity, right? Or something like that. Of course, exactly. And it's being pitched like you, you can't miss out on these great returns that the rich used to have exclusive right to, or exclusive access to. It's bullshit though.
00:47:24
Speaker
It's bullshit. They're going to get an inferior, inferior product. And they're going to throw off the risk profile of of their basic investing that they should be doing. It was a more complex. I don't know why I had to launch into that one. That's a more complex, nuanced thing. But it's it's one of those things that's hidden beneath that just seems like, OK, cool.
00:47:44
Speaker
And now all of a sudden we desire that or we desire that this is where the rich do have some culpability. Like we're fought like the society is following them. So everything they flaunt and everything they throw around with their lifestyle, including the size of our houses.
00:48:00
Speaker
When did that happen? Right. Well, he talking about 90 year mortgages now or something like that or 60 year mortgages. Well, they were, they were too. Yeah. Because people who couldn't afford it, like they have no other choice.
00:48:12
Speaker
That'll fuck you. Yeah. That's like, well, that's just like, you're gonna, that's a long ass time. But, uh, yeah, that there's that thing of like, well, there's certain people that can do stuff. Not everyone needs to do it. But now we all think we can do everything or we're being told we can. And that's where you're like, no, you don't need that. Like even the idea, like when we were kids, the idea of getting like a Mercedes was like for other people.
00:48:36
Speaker
Oh God. And now it's like everybody, don't know. I, I deserve it. And so I, I'll lease a fucking, three series or five series so that i can have that car make payments of 900 bucks a month so i can and it's like no just don't you that's not for you let some fucker have the mercedes and yeah that's what i'm saying let them have it yeah now i want to take it one step further is i want to segregate them like i don't want them to access the wonderful community things that that we aren't they doing it themselves with the country club
00:49:07
Speaker
I hope stay there, but don't come to the, to the little town festival that we created with arts and crafts where we all know each other and try to weasel your way in and pay extra for somebody's art. And, and a never ending Renaissance fair with like the, with the flute playing. theater i baby they did day people and everybody knows so everybody knows each other and when the rich guy comes in everybody's like ew ew ew get the fuck out ew that's the reverse upside down world I want to create because we we live in the opposite now I want those people to i want them go to Silicon Valley go to these fucking these places stay there just stay there
00:49:47
Speaker
You can do that all you want, but you're not going to get the rest of people that's like a lot of the society to stop desiring that crap. and Or maybe after like a hundred years, like how long before people are like, oh yeah, i don't need that shit.
00:49:59
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, of course. Yeah. Of course this whole thing is one sided Lance's rant and it's a hypocritical rant. Yeah. I just think it's, how do you get, i mean, you could stop, like you stopped. I kind of stopped. Like how, how how do you, how do you get people stop desiring that crap?
00:50:17
Speaker
you get connected with things that truly make you feel good. And I mean, I guess if like biking for me feels good, surfing for you feels good. Hiking. Yeah. You got a nice bike, dude. Nice bike. What components do you have?
00:50:30
Speaker
No. Yeah. Not really. I don't. I actually, when I'm out there, I'm actually laughable in terms of the amount I ride and the bikes that I'm on. I'm pretty fucking laughable, but it works for me. And dude, I know, but like, I don't know what, what flip people ah are flip people on this.
00:50:47
Speaker
like but There are people that are gonna drop eight grand on a bike and that's all they care about. And for them, they're like, yeah, yeah that's the thing. And i I could probably support that if that's their thing. I think though that if you look at people's, have you ever been into, well, you you know, your brother probably is an example this. I don't wanna trash him, such a nice dude. But like, if you go into somebody's house where they've made it there isn't a single thing in there in any pursuit or avenue or hobby that isn't fairly dialed in, like, right?
00:51:18
Speaker
You would think they were into super high-end custom kitchens. You would think that they're into fantastic cars. You would think they're also into like really cool niche clothing. I mean, everything is yeah is locked and loaded. um Nothing is missed from that kind capitalist sensibility.
00:51:36
Speaker
It's like, it's not, oh it's not that you're just into this thing that you're spending money on. You're like, you're into the whole thing. Are you at least representing everything? Yeah. Yeah. And I don't want anything to do with that is what I'm saying.
00:51:49
Speaker
yeah i don't know i mean i like we like we redid a kitchen we have a house to costa rica we redid the kitchen and we did it like everybody feel everyone justifies their own shit because what i thought what i thought was a pretty like reasonable amount of money to spend on a kitchen remodel and when we did it like as frugal as possible and we got like laborers that we knew and and everything but for other people It was some fresa bullshit, I'm sure, you know, but like, if you talk about a remodel in the U S is 200 grand and we, maybe we put 15, 20 grand into it.
00:52:25
Speaker
Kitchen looks yeah awesome too. But, but for other people, it's like, well, who the fuck is spending 15 grand on a kitchen? know And so it's hard to point fingers, but like,
00:52:36
Speaker
But i'm all in my head, I'm like, yeah, I did the right thing. We made a ah comfortable space for ourselves and we didn't spend stupid money on trying to keep up with people or anything, you know, on the latest stone or any that kind of bullshit. Yeah, yeah. But at some level, there's no escaping the hypocrisy. There's just no escaping it. yeah That's what I'm saying. um Yeah. Yeah.
00:52:54
Speaker
But, uh, I, I still think there is a line for me and a country club is a great example or, paying for constant upgrades and every goddamn thing. And, and, uh, there's a line for me where if you want to be that person, go be that person. I'm not around Lance, not around, lance but i I think one way to not be around it is like, if you, if you're not around, uh, marketing,
00:53:23
Speaker
Like if you're not around advertising and marketing, you don't, it's interesting i how quickly you kind of forget about all that shit. If you're not, the messages aren't being pounded into you. And like, i don't, i I think that's kind of what happened to me in one way or another. It's like, I'm not seeing, when i come watch at US TV or listen to advertisements and shit, it's like, oh, it's just crazy.
00:53:43
Speaker
Cause I've been away from it for a while. I don't really know what's going on because i don't feel like, i mean, there's advertising down there, obviously, and there's nice cars and all the nice German cars are there and Japanese cars and gringo cars and whatever. But I just don't feel like the marketing, the advertising is like...
00:54:03
Speaker
being forced out, like, it's ah it's almost like what's what's forced down your throat there is, like, saving. Like, deals and shit like that. Not, like, status. It's more like that. So it'll be like, this is an offerta. Like, it's like, oh, this is a great deal.
00:54:17
Speaker
You know, or we we do it cheaper than the other people. and And I could be wrong, but I feel like that's probably, like, keeps a little sanity in a society.
00:54:28
Speaker
Is the idea, like, oh, get the best deal, not not get the best thing. yeah who knows because people down there be like yeah everything that's why everything's a piece of shit because it was made in china for like three cents where it doesn't have that american quality maybe we need the frescas uh so what's your advice what would be your advice pants huh oh you do yeah hey oh o hey uh what would be your advice as we wrap this up surf surf to young people growing up now having to navigate this capitalism that has culturally pushed out to other countries. What would be your advice?
00:55:06
Speaker
Well, I'm trying to give advice all the time. Sometimes it like i feel like, I don't know, when you describe your kids, I feel like they, you you and your wife probably gave a message, but they you just got lucky in a sense that they're not that, like I don't know, materialistic's the right word, but they're not like, they don't seem to be that influenced by some of the messages out there.
00:55:28
Speaker
And I think, like, you know, your your your thing about the basketball shoes is like, your son's actually buying them to play hoops. And that's his passion, and that's what he's doing.
00:55:39
Speaker
And I'm trying to like, i don't, like my thing for my kids is like, well, I i could spend some money where where something's like important to you. That's where it makes sense. But it doesn't make sense to show it off to anyone else. It doesn't make sense to do it for anyone else. It doesn't make sense like as a symbol.
00:55:58
Speaker
It's gotta be like something that that's meaningful to you. I've got a secret.
00:56:06
Speaker
I've got a secret.
00:56:10
Speaker
I don't know what I'm talking about.
00:56:15
Speaker
a piece of shit.
00:56:18
Speaker
I've got a secret. I'm a piece of shit. I've got a secret. My grandpa touched me.