| Let's start with freedom. They feel strongly that how they live their life or spend their money is none of your business. And I agree. But they have ferocious opinions about how much money other people should have - and how much the government should let them keep. Whether someone worked, saved, and invested for years - or decades - makes no difference to them. In truth, of course, it makes all the difference. For example, if someone earns $100,000 a year and spends it all, they will claim that's their perfect right. Yet if someone earns $100,000 a year, invests half of it, and continues doing this for a long period, something amazing happens. They may become not just a millionaire but a multi-millionaire. Now, suddenly, they have a big problem. It's simply not fair that some have so much more than others. Notice that if you had lived large - and spent everything - that's your business and they have no problem. But a fortune accumulated due to hard work, sacrifice, thrift, and risk-taking? That's just wrong. The money should be redistributed to the more deserving. (People like them.) That's only fair. Hmm. Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey are both billionaires. How would the money they earned somehow have fallen into our pockets if they hadn't gotten so rich? Why is it fair that the government should take their money - by threat of force - and divide it among the rest of us? Socialists insist that nobody needs that much, that they can't possibly spend it all. I have no interest in how much someone else needs or how they spend their own money. But there are plenty of uses for money besides spending. You can help people in need, give it to worthy causes, set up a foundation, leave it to your kids and grandkids, or invest it. These young people realize it was wrong when gay people weren't treated equally like straight people. Or when black people weren't treated equally like white people. Or when women weren't treated equally like men. But law-abiding rich people being left alone to do what they want, like everyone else? That can't be tolerated. The weird part? Being black or female or gay is not an achievement. It requires no effort. Being industrious, living beneath your means, saving money instead of spending it, and taking risks requires a lot of it. Moreover, these wealthy individuals create jobs, drive innovation, donate millions to non-profits, and pay the vast majority of income taxes. Yet these young people are filled with contempt for them. I hope that self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani wins New York's mayoral contest. Millions of Americans need a refresher course. They need to learn what happens to housing availability when rents are frozen, what happens to food affordability when the government runs the grocery stores, and who is left holding the bag when rich people flee a city that already has the top national, state and local income tax rate: 51.8%. In short, socialists might be careful what they wish for. As Jack Reacher used to remind cocky opponents just before a fistfight... "Remember, you wanted this." Good investing, Alex | 
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