The K-Shaped Economy: Why YOUR Wages Will Never Catch Up

0:00Hey, Chicagoland! The Wayfair store is in your neighborhood at Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Finally, you can feel the fabric, sit on the sectionals, and even open the refrigerators. Plus, our in-store designers will help you bring it all together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget. Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Wayfair, every style, every home Congratulations! The stock market hit a new high last week, but your grocery bill hit a new high too.

0:37Both of those things are true at the same time. But it's even more confusing, let me say this plainly, because it may be the most important sentence in this whole episode. Wages are not going to keep up with inflation. Not this year, not next year, maybe not ever again. If your entire financial plan is, I'll ask for a raise or I'll get promoted, you're going to get screwed. In this episode, I'm going to show you who's actually deciding whether your paycheck ever goes up again. It's not who you think. More importantly, you're going to learn how to fix that. This episode is called The K-Shaped Economy, Why Your Wages Will Never Catch Up.

1:27Don't go anywhere. This is the Rich Dad Radio Show, the good news and bad news about money. Here's Robert Kiyosaki. Welcome to the Rich Dad Radio Show, the good and bad about money. This is Robert Kiyosaki, and today is just you and me. and we're talking about what the rich are teaching their kids about money. Something is broken and nobody in Washington wants to explain it to you. The stock market hit a new high last week. Your grocery bill hit a new high last week too. Both of those things are true at the same time. People call me, they say, Robert, how can the economy feel this bad when the markets look this good?

2:17That's the wrong question. Because there is no economy, not one economy. There are two. One is going up, one is going down, and the gap between them is getting wider every single month. Most people are standing in the one going down. That's why it feels terrible. A small group is standing in the one going up. That's why the markets never crash. Here's the part that should scare you. You don't get to pick which one you're in by voting. You don't get to pick it by working harder. You picked it, or it was picked for you, a long time ago. And most people don't even know which side they're standing on.

3:05I'm going to show you exactly how to tell. Here's a number. It's not your job title, not your degree, not how many hours you work last week. The number is this, what do you own? That's the whole test. That's the only test. Most people don't realize that. They think the economy is one thing moving up or down together like a boat. It's not a boat, it's a letter, a K. Two lines, one going up, one going down, splitting apart from the same point. Look at the bottom line first. Rent, up. Groceries, up. Insurance, up. Credit card balances at record highs. Wages, barely moving. Jobs getting automated out from under people who did everything right.

3:54A starter home, out of reach for most. That's the bottom of the K. That's where most people are standing. Now look at the top line. Their stocks went up. Their home equity ballooned. Their mortgage is locked in at 2-3 % from years ago. They own rental property. They own a business. They own gold, silver, Bitcoin. They're still spending, still traveling, still investing because they're not worried. They can't be. They own the thing that's rising. That's why the market doesn't crash when the bottom is in pain. It's not the bottom moving the market. It's the top. Let me say that again slower. It is not your effort that decides which line you're on.

4:39It is what you own. Two people can work the exact same number of hours at the exact same intensity for the exact same number of years and end up on opposite sides of that letter. That's the difference. You already have a gut feeling about which side of that K you're standing on. Don't trust the gut feeling yet, because in a minute, I'm going to show you the real reason housing became unaffordable, and it has nothing to do with home prices. It's not what they told you. Don't go anywhere. Thank you for listening to my show. It means a lot. Right now, I want to take a minute to tell you about Devon.

5:21You see, there's a room in this country where the real deals happen. Sovereign wealth funds, billionaires, family offices, And for decades, that room had one rule. You don't get in unless you already have more money than you'll ever need. Everyone else, you get to gamble with the stock market. You're stuck working with a financial advisor who gets paid commissions whether it works or not, even when you lose. And let me tell you, that's the system. It was built to keep you out on purpose. So I want you to meet Devin Johnson. Devin Johnson was inside that room. She spent her career hunting deals for the people who already had everything.

5:59She's raised over$9 billion and even started her own fund. And then she did something the system never expected. She opened the door for you to enter and join in their private deals. Deals to invest in gold mines, oil rigs, deals built for cashflow, deals structured so you don't pay taxes, deals with huge growth potential. It's called Capital Club. Devin does not get commissions. She doesn't get paid for pushing you into anything. She has no reason to. Devin has a new opportunity opening up this week, and Capital Club members won't just hear about it. They'll actually talk to the person behind the deal, ask real questions, live, in real time.

6:41For once, someone who knows how the game is rigged is hunting for you instead of them. To learn more, go to CapitalClub33.com. That's CapitalClub33.com. Harry, this week's opportunity won't wait. I've got a neighbor, retired guy, smart guy. For years, he's been telling me about this business he wants to start. He's got the idea, he's got the plan. He's even got the name picked out, but he never launches. You know why? The setup. Which website builder? Which domain company? Which email tool? He'd open five tabs, burn three hours, and have nothing to show for it. So the business stayed in his head where it made him exactly zero dollars.

7:21Last week, he finally launched. I asked him how. He said, Robert, I didn't build a website. I had a conversation. He went to Hostinger and just told their AI what he wanted, plain English. Minutes later, the first version of his website was done. And here's a part I like. The domain, the hosting, the business email, all of it. One place, one account. No duct tape, no tech guy, and it costs less than what most people waste on coffee. So I can't afford it won't work here. Rich Dad taught me, the poor say I can't. The rich ask, how can I? Here's how. Go to hostinger.com slash richdad20 and use code richdad20 for 20 % off.

8:05That's hostinger.com slash richdad20. The people who change their financial future aren't the ones who almost did something. Go now. It's a great first step. We're back. Let's get right into it. that we're talking about the K-shaped economy. Two lines, one up, one down. And the line you're on isn't decided by effort, it's decided by ownership. Now let's go to the bottom line, because that's where most of you are standing right now. You feel it every single day. Rent went up again. The grocery bill went up again. Your insurance renewal came in higher again. You put gas in the car and you don't even look at the number anymore.

8:46You just pay it. That's fear dressed up as normal. People say, I must be doing something wrong. You're not doing anything wrong. You're doing everything you were told to do. Go to school, get good grades, get a J-O-B, save your money, work hard, and hope it's enough. That's the plan they gave you. And people get angry when I say this. That plan was never designed to put you on the top of the K. It was designed to keep the bottom line supplied with workers. Workers who show up. Workers who don't ask where their money goes at the end of the month. Workers who trade 40, 50, 60 years of their life for a paycheck that inflation eats a little more of every year.

9:31Here's a truth nobody tells you at graduation. You already know which side of the K you're standing on. You knew before this episode started. You feel it every time your paycheck hits the account and it's gone in four days. You feel it every time you check your savings account and inflation has quietly eaten the interest before you even earned it. That gut feeling from before the break, that was correct. Most of you are on the bottom line. Not because you're lazy, not because you didn't try, because nobody ever showed you the other reason things got this expensive and it is not the reason you've been given.

10:09Let me show you. People think housing is unaffordable because of prices. Wrong. Prices didn't do this to you. The gap between assets and wages did this to you. Here's the picture, plain and simple. A carpenter who bought one rental property five years ago is ahead today, just from owning. A lawyer, more school, more letters after her name, who rented those same five years, is behind. Not because she's less smart, because she owned nothing, while the asset kept climbing without her. Most people don't realize the middle class isn't defined by a job title anymore. It used to be, not anymore. Own assets, you're on the top of the K.

10:57Own nothing, you're on the bottom. Doesn't matter what your business card says. A mechanic who owns three rental houses is wealthier than a surgeon who owns none. Say that out loud in a room full of people with framed diplomas. Watch their faces. Nobody wants to hear it. People get angry when I say this, because it means all those years of school, all those letters after the name, none of it was ever the real test. The diploma was never the asset. You were always the asset. The diploma was just supposed to help you find one to buy. And this is where it gets uncomfortable for a lot of people listening right now, because there's something else moving underneath all of this, quietly.

11:48Something that isn't just deciding who owns the assets. It's deciding whether your wage ever goes up again, at all, ever. I'll get to that in one second. But first, understand this. The house isn't the problem. The rent isn't the problem. Owning nothing while everything else rises around you, that's the problem. That's the whole problem. There's a reason your paycheck feels stuck, and it has nothing to do with your boss, your effort, or your resume. Something is quietly making sure it stays stuck, and it's not who you think. I'll show you exactly what it is and why they're doing it on purpose.

12:31Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back I've got a neighbor retired guy smart guy for years. He's been telling me about this business He wants to start he's got the idea. He's got the plan He's even got the name picked out, but he never launches You know why the setup which website builder which domain company which email tool He'd open five tabs burn three hours and have nothing to show for it So the business stayed in his head where it made him exactly zero dollars. Last week, he finally launched. I asked him how. He said, Robert, I didn't build a website. I had a conversation. He went to Hostinger and just told their AI what he wanted, plain English.

13:10Minutes later, the first version of his website was done. And here's a part I like. The domain, the hosting, the business email, all of it. One place, one account. No duct tape, no tech guy. and it costs less than what most people waste on coffee. So I can't afford it, won't work here. Rich Dad taught me, the poor say I can't. The rich ask, how can I? Here's how. Go to hostinger.com slash richdad20 and use code richdad20 for 20 % off. That's hostinger.com slash richdad20. The people who change their financial future aren't the ones who almost did something. Go now. it's a great first step. Thank you for listening to my show.

13:55It means a lot. Right now, I want to take a minute to tell you about Devin. You see, there's a room in this country where the real deals happen. Sovereign wealth funds, billionaires, family offices. And for decades, that room had one rule. You don't get in unless you already have more money than you'll ever need. Everyone else, you get to gamble with the stock market. You're stuck working with a financial advisor who gets paid commissions whether it works or not, even when you lose. And let me tell you, that's the system. It was built to keep you out on purpose. So I want you to meet Devin Johnson.

14:31Devin Johnson was inside that room. She spent her career hunting deals for the people who already had everything. She's raised over$9 billion and even started her own fund. And then she did something the system never expected. She opened the door for you to enter and join in their private deals. Deals to invest in gold mines, oil rigs, deals built for cash flow, deals structured so you don't pay taxes, deals with huge growth potential. It's called Capital Club. Devin does not get commissions. She doesn't get paid for pushing you into anything. She has no reason to. Devin has a new opportunity opening up this week, and Capital Club members won't just hear about it.

15:14they'll actually talk to the person behind the deal. Ask real questions, live, in real time. For once, someone who knows how the game is rigged is hunting for you instead of them. To learn more, go to capitalclub33.com. That's capitalclub33.com. Hurry, this week's opportunity won't wait. Okay, welcome back. We're deep in the K-shaped economy now. Assets rising, wages flat, ownership decides your side. and I told you something was moving quietly underneath all of it. AI is not going to fire millions of people overnight. That's not the danger. Here's the actual danger. It eliminates the need to ever raise your pay again.

16:01If one accountant can now do the work of two, why would a company raise either of their salaries? If one marketer can now do the work of five, why would anyone bid up your talent? If a paralegal gets replaced by software that never sleeps, never asks for a raise, never takes a vacation day, why would a law firm ever compete for a human paralegal's salary again? They don't need to fire you to win. They just need to stop giving you a reason to expect more. Let me say this plainly because it may be the most important sentence in this whole episode. Wages are not going to keep up with inflation. Not this year.

16:56Not next year. Maybe not ever again. Again, if your entire financial plan is, I'll ask for a raise or I'll get promoted, you've built your whole future on the wrong side of the K. Remember the number I told you about before the first break? It was never your paycheck. It was never your job title. It was always what you own. Now you know why that number matters more than it ever has. because the other number, the one on your pay stub, just stopped being reliable, maybe permanently. But here's what people get wrong about all of this. They blame AI. They blame their employer. They blame the economy.

17:39There's one player in this whole story who's been making a decision on purpose for years, and it isn't a robot. It's not a robot. It's the Federal Reserve. Here's the box they're stuck in. Raise interest rates high enough to kill inflation and you kill the economy right along with it. Cut interest rates to save the economy and inflation takes right back off. Two bad options. So they quietly pick one. They pick inflation. Why inflation? Because inflation does something very specific. It pushes asset prices up and it pushes wage earners down at the exact same time. That's why the market stays hot while you feel broke.

18:24Follow the money for a second. Just follow it. When the Fed makes money cheap, where does that money go? Not into your paycheck. It goes into stocks, into real estate, into commodities, into gold, silver, Bitcoin. Never into wages. Not once. Not ever. Think about that for a second. Trillions of dollars created out of nothing and every single dollar of it knows exactly where to go. It flows uphill, always uphill, straight to the people who already own something. It has never once flowed downhill into a paycheck. Here's a fact most people never connect. When the Fed cuts rates, asset owners throw a party.

19:08Wage earners don't even get invited. And there's a reason for something else too, something I haven't explained yet. why the market never crashes just because the bottom is suffering. And I'll get to that. But first understand what you just learned. The institution most people trust to manage the economy isn't managing it for you. It's managing it for whoever already owns the assets. That's not a conspiracy. You know, that's just the mechanics of the system working exactly as designed. The Fed didn't create the K. But every single time it makes a choice, it makes that K a little bit steeper. That's the difference.

19:52And I'll now put the two pieces together. AI is quietly freezing your raises. The Fed is quietly inflating the assets you own, if you own any, and inflating your grocery bill either way. Two separate machines, same result. They're not conspiring with each other in some room. They don't have to. They're both just doing their job, and their job was never to protect your wage. Think about it. If you are relying on your job, your salary, your employer, your wages, your savings account, sitting in a bank earning nothing, you're on the wrong side of the K. And both of these forces are working against you every single day.

20:42whether you notice or not. That's the thing about the bottom of the K. Nobody announces it. Nobody sends you a letter. You just quietly fall further behind, year after year, raise after raise that never comes. Meanwhile, the top of the K keeps compounding. Real estate, gold, silver, Bitcoin, businesses, skills a machine can't replace. That's not a list of investments. That's a list of which side of the letter you end up standing on. None of it requires a finance degree. None of it requires permission from your employer. It just requires you to stop waiting for the wage side to save you. I told you at the very top of this episode that you already know which sides you're on.

21:29Now you know exactly why. It was never about how hard you worked, never about your degree, your title, your resume. It was always about one question, which direction are you moving? Here's a last piece, the one I promised you. Why doesn't the market crash when so much of the country is hurting? People assume markets crash from pain, from suffering, from the bottom finally breaking. That's not how it works, never has been. Markets don't crash when the bottom is hurting. Markets crash when the top stops spending. And the top isn't stopping, not yet. They're still buying, still building, still compounding, quietly.

22:16Well, the news argues about whether the economy is good or bad, as if there's only one economy to argue about. There isn't. There never was. There are two lines on that letter, and they are moving further apart right now while you listen to this. Most people will finish this episode and go right back to hoping, hoping for a raise, hoping the rent stabilizes, hoping the economy turns around for everybody evenly like it's supposed to. It's not going to. Not because I said so, because it was never built that way. Here's what I know for certain. Some of you listening are already climbing the top of that K and and some of you are still standing at the bottom, wondering why it feels like running in place.

23:05I'm not going to tell you which one you are. You already know. The only question left is whether you're going to keep standing there or start climbing. Thank you for your time. Thank you for caring about your future. Thank you for understanding that you are the only one who cares about taking care of you. Take care. Here is something your financial advisor and Wall Street do not want you to know. The best deals in the world will never show up on your brokerage app. That is not an accident. The rules of money were not written for you. They were written for the rich, by the rich. That is why the average investor is funneled into stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and told to sit tight for 40 years and hope.

23:50Meanwhile, the best deals in the world are private, real estate, oil and gas, small businesses. These assets are not subject to the same public market rules, and they consistently outperform Wall Street. You find them through relationships, education, and deal flow built over years. That is not an accident. It keeps the good deals inside a small circle while everyone else fights over what is left in public markets. If you want real returns, stop looking where everyone else is told to look. I've got a solution for you. Meet Devin Johnson, founder of Capital Club. Devin has access to deals most people don't even know exist.

24:27Deals that let you invest in a business before it goes public. Deals that cash flow regularly and consistently. Deals that can prevent you from ever paying taxes. Deals that Wall Street doesn't want you to know about. Now Devin is opening a door so you can have access to her deals. To learn more, visit Devin at CapitalClub33.com. That's CapitalClub33.com. Thank you.

25:37This podcast is a presentation of Rich Dad Media Network.

25:53Plus, our in-store designers will help you bring it all together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget. Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Edens Plaza and Wilmette.