My name is Michael but you can call me Henry.
“Henry” is an acronym for High-Earner-Not-Rich-Yet.
That’s me.
I’m the guy that did everything right.
I come from a family of immigrants who pulled themselves up from far below the poverty line.
My parents stressed to me the importance of a good education.
Neither my wife nor myself have ever been personally provided with a single dime of inheritance.
I took all of the hardest classes in college and studied at least eight hours per day while many others around me goofed off and had a good time.
I went to medical school and became a doctor.
When I was in my 20’s, I often worked over 90 hours per week in residency while making only 33,000 dollars per year.
Even though I worked 90 hour work-weeks during my residency, I still usually would moonlight on most weekends for additional 60 hour shifts in order to rapidly pay down my loans.
I have never asked a union leader to artificially inflate my value in the workplace.
For years, my wife and I lived in an 88,000 dollar home which we quickly paid off and got into the early habit of saving at least 50 percent of our income.
My wife and I stood by and watched people with one sixth of our household income purchase houses at least three times bigger than ours with no money down.
I buy almost all of my clothes at Wal-Mart and many people who do not know me simply assume that I am poor.
My wife and I paid off over 160,000 dollars of debt before I turned twenty eight.
I started my own business and eventually purchased a large apartment complex. I gradually paid down the mortgage on this property until it was completely paid off.
I have always paid all of my taxes and the only contribution to my lifetime criminal record was a speeding ticket which I received when I was 18-years-old.
I have absolutely no debt.
I did not “cheat” anyone else to get where I am today.
I have never played the “victim card.”
I have never received a single penny of public assistance.
I have never declared bankruptcy or asked for any of my debt to be “forgiven.”
I drive a ten-year-old used pick-up truck and I paid cash for it.
My house is over 40 years old and has a few holes in it but it’s mine.
I took all of my money out of the stock market in 2007 and completely avoided the market collapse.
I would like to say I have been fortunate in life but this is untrue. I have earned everything I have through planning, education, and hard work.
I usually pick political candidates that get around four percent of the popular vote.
My wife and I paid slightly over 310,000 dollars in federal, state, property, and sales taxes in 2010 alone.
My wife and I have contributed to Social Security for over twenty years with the expectation that we will never see a dime of this money.
I don’t have a personal chef, personal trainer, or butler. I hire a housekeeper to clean our house twice a month and she drives a car much nicer than the one I drive.
I plan to avoid the upcoming currency collapse by putting many of my assets into commodities and real estate.
My country now runs up huge amounts of debt and turns its eyes to me once again.
I am told that I need to pay my fair share of taxes.
I am told that I should feel grateful for what I have.
I am told that the fruits of my labor will eventually need to be “redistributed.”
I now see large crowds of young Americans attending the political rallies of self-described socialists.
I am told not to complain about my current situation.
I say all of this not to complain… but simply to inform.
I am tired.
I am growing weary of a system that punishes the winners and rewards the losers.
I am growing angry over a system of taxation without representation.
I announced last year that I was officially walking away from the practice of medicine for good.
My country has lost another doctor and another taxpayer.
I do not seek your approval for my life choices and I couldn’t care less about your criticism.
I am going to focus less on making money and more on improving myself by exercising, reading, and teaching myself to become maximally self-sufficient.
I am awaiting our country’s economic collapse.
Most importantly, I am going to teach my son about the principles that this country was founded on. I pray that he can be the kind of individual who can pick up the pieces and help rebuild this country into something great once again.
Our citizens will soon learn that we all get the country that we deserve.
