Why does the media print rags to riches stories? - eviltoast

Betty Sue makes $286,000 per month on Etsy. She started with nothing, and now she’s filthy rich.

Come on, man. The chances of that happening to the average person are close to zero. Stories like this give people unrealistic expectations.

  • Electric_Druid@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    People are more likely to accept an inherently flawed economic system if they thing they have any chance of “beating” it. Stories like this, although actually very rare, help reinforce that narrative.

    • MrMcGasion@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I have had someone tell me that they’d rather live in an economic system “like we have in America” where people have a chance at rags to riches, than a system “like Germany, where the social safety net means the average person doesn’t have a chance at making it big.”

      If anyone ever tells you wealthy people are intelligent, don’t believe them.

    • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yep, many also think they’re exceptional, and so they’ve convinced themselves they’ll be the exception.