Why Young People — and Anyone Without Assets — Are Struggling
“The system works because people can’t afford it.”
The modern system does not depend on people thriving.
It depends on people surviving just enough to keep paying.
What the System Is Actually Built On
Not productivity.
Not happiness.
Not upward mobility.
The real pillars are:
Debt – borrowing replaces income growth
Financial stress – pressure keeps people compliant
Stretching households – maxed credit, thin margins
Future income pulled forward – tomorrow spent today
Rent extraction – housing, subscriptions, fees
Asset inflation – prices rising faster than wages
If everyone were financially comfortable, the leverage breaks.
The system needs:
People afraid to miss a paycheck
Renters locked into rising costs
Consumers financing lifestyles
Workers trading time for stability
That’s not a bug.
That’s the design.
The Real Trade Was Never Stocks
It Was Time
This may be the most important insight of all:
The real trade isn’t equities, crypto, or real estate.
The real trade is time.
Here’s what that means:
Asset Owners Are Borrowing From the Future
Ultra-low interest rates (for decades)
Cheap leverage
Inflation protection
Compounding assets
Non-Owners Are Paying the Bill
Higher rents
Higher prices
Weaker purchasing power
Less flexibility, fewer options
So markets go up.
GDP looks fine.
Indexes hit all-time highs.
But quality of life goes sideways.
That’s why people feel exhausted during “booms.”
That’s why optimism doesn’t match reality.
Why Financial Media Will Never Say This
There’s one question financial media almost never asks:
If the system is healthy…
why does it require constant intervention?
Rate cuts.
QE.
Bailouts.
Liquidity injections.
Emergency programs.
This isn’t accidental.
CNBC-style narratives
Influencers selling “easy money”
Sell-side analysts
ETF marketing machines
Their job isn’t truth.
Their job is participation.
The system only works if people:
Keep investing
Keep borrowing
Keep consuming
Keep believing
Asking structural questions slows the machine.
Market Signals Are Quietly Screaming
This isn’t about panic.
It’s about tension.
Look at the signals:
Gold rising → distrust in currencies
Silver breaking out → long-term suppression cracking
Bond yields rising despite weak data → confusion, not confidence
Oil firming → inflation pressure still alive
Translation:
Markets are not calm.
They’re conflicted.
Stressed.
Pulled in opposite directions.
Not collapsing — but not healthy either.
The Final Realization
This is the line that ties it all together:
The house isn’t winning because it’s smarter.
It’s winning because it owns time.
Institutions and asset owners benefit because:
They borrow cheaply
They own appreciating assets
They benefit from inflation
They control capital structures
Everyone else trades:
Hours of life
For wages that don’t compound
And almost no one teaches this.
Why This Matters for “Grow Your Pile”
This isn’t about blaming.
It’s about understanding the game you’re in.
You don’t escape by:
Working harder
Timing markets perfectly
Chasing hype
You escape by:
Owning assets
Thinking long-term
Reducing dependence on wages alone
Letting time work for you instead of against you
Because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
And that’s when the real compounding begins.