Quote:
Originally Posted by BillJasper
Why? Shouldn't he have to go out and earn his own keep the way your advocating for the poor?
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I find it rather humorous that multiple people in this discussion keep bringing up this strawman that kids who inherit something didn't "earn their own keep." That's just silly. Think about it. A huge chunk (if not the flat-out majority) of active members of this board...
1. ...Are in their mid 30s to late 40s.
2. ...Have worked for 15-30 years.
3. ...Have at least one living parent.
I'm too lazy to look up the averages overall, but it seems very safe to assume that the huge majority of people who inherit money have been in the work force for at least 20 years, probably more like 25-30, before they receive it. Heck, my parents were OLD--47 and 41 when I was born, and even I didn't become an "orphan" until a couple of weeks before my 44th birthday. And in this case of the huge majority of the people on this forum, it's not a lifestyle-changing amount of money. We're talking about making retirement a little more comfortable for your kids, making it easier for your grandkids to come out of college without student debt, making it safer for your kid to quit his or her job at age 50 to start a small business they've always dreamed about but could never take the risk to do because of kids, college funds, mortgages, etc.
And yes, I agree with Jon: all of the items that I just mentioned are *huge* motivations for me to be more productive for longer.