Having money to burn, the child goes to places where other young people just like them hang out, & they meet people, they date, & sometimes they get married. Life is wonderful now, because today, both men & women work.

Two incomes are bliss. They feel successful, their future is bright, & they decide to buy a house, a car, a television, take vacations & have children. The happy bundle arrives. The demand for cash is enormous. The happy couple decides that their careers are vitally important & begin to work harder, seeking promotions & raises. The raises come, so does another child & the need for a bigger house. They work harder, become better employees, even more dedicated. They may go back to school to get more specialized skills so they can earn more money. Maybe they take a second job. Their incomes go up, but so does the tax bracket they’re in & the real estate taxes on their new large home, & their social security taxes & all the other taxes. They get their large paycheck & wonder where all the money went. They buy some mutual funds & buy groceries with their credit card. The children reach 5 or 6 years of age, & the need to save for college increases as well as the need to save for their retirement.

The happy couple born, 35 years ago, is now trapped in the Rat Race for the rest of their working days. They work for the owners of their company, for the government paying taxes, & for the bank paying off a mortgage & credit cards.

Then, they advise their own children to ‘study hard, get good grades, & find a safe job or career.’ They learn nothing about money, except from those who profit from their naivete, & work hard all their lives. The process repeats into another hard-working generation.

This is the ‘Rat Race'.