What caught my eye this week.<\/em><\/p>\n Y<\/span>ou don\u2019t need to commission a full-on report to know that we all have wildly different ideas about money \u2013 and about how much of it is, well, a lot.<\/p>\n And you don\u2019t need to be a dedicated peruser of the personal finance Internet to know the rule is that the more money you have, the higher you set your number 11<\/a> on the That\u2019s A Lot Of Money dial, either.<\/p>\n Just witness the regular handbags swinging on Reddit<\/em> \u2013 quite possibly over the price of a handbag \u2013 or even the more respectful differences of opinion that follow some of our FIRE-side chats<\/a>.<\/p>\n One person\u2019s obliviously rich princeling is another\u2019s squeezed middle striver.<\/p>\n But my job isn\u2019t just to ponder the nature of these eternal tugs-of-war.<\/p>\n No, I\u2019m here to introduce the latest one\u2026<\/p>\n This time it comes courtesy of HSBC, whose new Wealth Report<\/em> was covered this week by This Is Money<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n Nine in 10 Britons earning \u00a3100,000 or more a year before deductions do not view themselves as wealthy, despite being in the top 4% of earners, new data claims.<\/p>\n On average, most Britons think an individual needs to rake in \u00a3213,000 a year before they can be considered wealthy, according to HSBC Premier\u2019s new research.<\/p>\n At over \u00a3200,000, the sum most people view as the wealth threshold is over six times the national average annual salary.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Read the rest of the article to spot all your favourite features of the genre!<\/p>\n There\u2019s the map of Great Britain showing how out of touch London is. The claim that Gen Z cares more about buzz than bonuses. And the must-have interview with an obviously rich person who splits her time between the UK and the US but who\u2019s unfortunately benchmarking herself against peers earning millions, and so she feels a little brassic.<\/p>\n Okay, we all understand this.<\/p>\n Money is relative. Taxes eat very nearly half of seemingly vast salaries. A two-bed flat in Zone Two costs \u00a31 million. And won\u2019t anybody think of the school fees?<\/p>\n A more novel twist comes though when you pair this discussion with new research about high-earners\u2019 attitude to taxes. Or how \u201cwe all deserve to be rich\u201d<\/em>, as Joachim Klement put it on his blog<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n Again it\u2019s no surprise to read how the research found that people who believe their good fortune is down to their skill or effort will then favour lower taxes on the proceeds.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve thought that at times myself, and most of you will have too.<\/p>\n But as Klement explains, researchers at the University of Warwick also showed that even people who derive their winnings entirely from luck will call for lower taxes, compared to those who won nothing.<\/p>\n You can see this effect in the following chart, although it\u2019ll possibly only make sense if you read the full article<\/a>:<\/p>\n The bottom line is people who have a lot of money don\u2019t want it taken off them, while those who don\u2019t have the money think more of it should be.<\/p>\n Again, hardly rocket science. But I suppose there are only so many well-paid jobs for rocket scientists?<\/p>\n Now I\u2019m not sharing these thoughts because I think \u00a3100,000 a year is a vast fortune. Nor am I calling for another round of tax hikes.<\/p>\n If anything I believe that after many years of real terms wage stagnation<\/a>, the UK has a poverty of ambition about what constitutes a very high salary \u2013 certainly versus our US peers.<\/p>\n And as for taxes, the national take approaching a post-war high<\/a> seems like a pretty good place to say enough is enough, and that perhaps we need to draw a line in the sand and to try something different from here.<\/p>\n However it does all serve as yet another reminder as to how and why it\u2019s so hard to talk to each other about all this. Let alone to reach a political consensus.<\/p>\n Entrenching wealth inequality will only make it worse.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been warning for years of the increasing risk of what I call \u2018neo-feudalism\u2019. It\u2019s one reason why I favour high inheritance taxes.<\/p>\n Meanwhile an article in The Standard<\/a><\/em> this week argues that London has become an \u2018inheritocracy\u2019.<\/p>\n The author concludes:<\/p>\n The major frustration in all this is that our 21st-century inheritocracy contradicts everything we were told: work hard, get good grades, land a solid job, and success will follow.<\/p>\n But that promise has crumbled.<\/p>\n Wages don\u2019t keep up, work doesn\u2019t pay, and in London, opportunity is inherited, not earned.<\/p>\n Leaving the city feels like failure, but the real failure is a system where talent loses out to wealth and good fortune.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Have a great weekend.<\/p>\n Which asset classes beat inflation after the pandemic? \u2013 Monevator<\/a><\/p>\n Infrastructure [A few weeks old, Moguls<\/a> follow-up imminent!]<\/em> \u2013 Monevator<\/a> [Members<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n From the archive-ator: Bring me sunshine [Covid hits in 2020]<\/em> \u2013 Monevator<\/a><\/p>\n Note: Some links are Google search results \u2013 in PC\/desktop view click through to read the article. Try privacy\/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing to sites you visit a lot.<\/em><\/p>\n Complaints about leasehold homes rise by 67% \u2013 Which<\/a><\/p>\n The UK\u2019s net zero push is driving growth, finds CBI report \u2013 Morningstar<\/a><\/p>\n LSE boss says UK needs to change \u2018perverse\u2019 view on retail investment \u2013 CityAM<\/a><\/p>\n UK house prices rise more than expected in February\u2026 \u2013 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026as price gap between houses and flats hits 30-year high \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n National Grid sells US renewables to Brookfield for $1.7bn \u2013 Bloomberg via F.P.<\/a><\/p>\n A billion Indians have no spending money \u2013 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n The true streaming battle is between YouTube and Netflix \u2013 Sherwood<\/a><\/p>\n New TIPS ETF solves inflation hedging. Gilt version to follow? \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n Energy price cap increases by 6.4% in April \u2013 Be Clever With Your Cash<\/a><\/p>\n How furniture flippers turn trash into treasure \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Get up to \u00a31,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and\/or investments through this link<\/a>. Terms apply \u2013\u00a0Charles Stanley<\/a><\/p>\n Cash ISA providers fail to support new flexible rules \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n How to get a free will in March \u2013 Which<\/a><\/p>\n VCTs have little reason to celebrate turning 30 [Search result]<\/em> \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n Get up to \u00a34,000 when you transfer your ISA to InvestEngine our link<\/a>. (Minimum deposit of \u00a3100, other T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) \u2013 InvestEngine<\/a><\/p>\n Few will qualify for HSBC\u2019s new 3.98% fixed-rate mortgage \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n Brutalist and modernist homes for sale, in pictures \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Wow, have you seen the stock market lately? \u2013 Mr Money Mustache<\/a><\/p>\n Buy-to-let: RIP \u2013 Fire V London<\/a><\/p>\n How should your asset allocation change with age? \u2013 Of Dollars and Data<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s five years since Covid came out of the left field \u2013 Humble Dollar<\/a><\/p>\n Swedroe: all risk assets experience long periods of poor performance \u2013 W.M.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 68 and I just spent \u00a3189,000 on an annuity\u201d<\/em> \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n Norway\u2019s sovereign wealth fund should be open to everyone \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n Trust in a black hat world [On U.S. deregulation but relevant]<\/em> \u2013 Dave Nadig<\/a><\/p>\n A money psychologist on how rich people can feel wealthier \u2013 This Is Money<\/a><\/p>\n Micro-retirements: Gen Z\u2019s brilliant fix for burnout \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Can we all invest like Yale? [PDF]<\/em> \u2013 Cambria<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026maybe, but the high fees on alts mean we shouldn\u2019t [Research]<\/em> \u2013 SSRN<\/a><\/p>\n The inevitable capital cycle \u2013 Flyover Stocks<\/a><\/p>\n Probabilities and payoffs [Research, PDF]<\/em> \u2013 Morgan Stanley<\/a><\/p>\n Warren Buffett\u2019s annual letter to shareholders\u2026 \u2013 Berkshire Hathaway<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026and how Berkshire might change after Buffett \u2013 Rational Walk<\/a><\/p>\n The 15 most value-destroying stocks of the past decade \u2013 Morningstar<\/a><\/p>\n Poor Charlie\u2019s Almanack<\/em> by Charlie Munger \u2013 \u00a30.99 on Kindle<\/a><\/p>\n How to Run Britain<\/em> by Robert Peston and Kishan Koria \u2013 \u00a30.99 on Kindle<\/a><\/p>\n Invisible Women <\/i>by Caroline Criado Perez \u2013 \u00a30.99 on Kindle<\/a><\/p>\n Chip War<\/em> by Chris Miller \u2013 \u00a31.99 on Kindle<\/a><\/p>\n A climate solution on the half shell \u2013 Noema<\/a><\/p>\n One tiny island is redefining travel to Thailand \u2013 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n Battery storage: a quiet revolution in energy industry [Search result]<\/em> \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n The elegant math model that could help rescue coral reefs \u2013 Quanta<\/a><\/p>\n Total collapse of Atlantic currents unlikely this century, FWIW \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Y Combinator deletes posts after A.I. startup\u2019s demo goes viral \u2013 TechCrunch<\/a><\/p>\n Amazon\u2019s souped-up Alexa+ arrives next month \u2013 Wired<\/a><\/p>\n The new aesthetics of Slop \u2013 The Honest Broker<\/a><\/p>\n This has never happened with an American president before \u2013 New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n Tories discover that Britain is located in Europe [Search result]<\/em> \u2013 FT<\/a><\/p>\n The case for DOGE\u2026 \u2013 We\u2019re Gonna Get Those Bastards<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026and the case against \u2013 Culture Study<\/a><\/p>\n How to buy your way out of a Federal lawsuit \u2013 Popular Information<\/a><\/p>\n Consumers shun companies whose bosses kowtow to Trump \u2013 Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n Rare frescoes unearthed in Pompeii shed light on ancient rituals \u2013 Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n What we learned from \u2018that dress\u2019, ten years on \u2013 Slate<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s a small chance asteroid YR4<\/em> might hit Earth in 2032 \u2013 The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n Seeing foreign languages: how synaesthesia can help language learning \u2013 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n How many episodes should you watch before quitting a TV show? \u2013 Stat Significant<\/a><\/p>\n The Murdochs x Succession<\/em> \u2013 SatPost<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s it all about? \u2013 Humble Dollar<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA capitalist economy cannot be maintained, however, if it oscillates between threats of an imminent collapse of asset values and employment and threats of accelerating inflation and rampant speculation, especially if the threats are sometimes realised.\u201d Like these links? Subscribe<\/a> to get them every Friday. Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon<\/a> and Interactive Investor<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Tax twister<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nKeeping up with the Jones\u2019 parents<\/h3>\n
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From Monevator<\/h3>\n
News<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nProducts and services<\/h3>\n
Comment and opinion<\/h3>\n
Investing like an endowment mini-special<\/h3>\n
Naughty corner: Active antics<\/h3>\n
Kindle book bargains<\/h3>\n
Environmental factors<\/h3>\n
Robot overlord roundup<\/h3>\n
Not at the dinner table<\/h3>\n
Off our beat<\/h3>\n
And finally\u2026<\/h3>\n
\u2013 Hyman Minksy, Stabilizing an Unstable Economy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n