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PROOF: Here's Why Working for the Man SUCKS 

By  Cartess Ross

I used to dabble in multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes back in the day… I was always trying to figure out how to make a quick buck with little effort. Suffice to say, that never seemed to work out.

But one common theme phrase I picked up from these MLM types was to ‘model successful people’. In other words, find someone whose successful and copy what they do.

If financial wealth and prosperity is what you’re after, I have some eye opening ‘ah-ha’ moments for you.

Back in 1992, the IRS began releasing data on the 400 taxpayers with the HIGHEST adjusted gross income (wealthiest people in the U.S.). The most current one that was released is for the year 2009.

To make it into the top 400, you needed $77.4 million in adjusted gross income, although, the average earnings were $202.4 million buck-a-roos.

According to the IRS, this is how the TOP 400 taxpayers earned their income in 2009:

  • Wages/Salaries: 8.6%
  • Interest: 6.6%
  • Dividends: 13%
  • Partnerships/Corporations: 19.9%
  • Capital Gains: 45.8%

In case this ain’t making any type of sense to you, let me break it down

In order for you to get your $500 paycheck on Friday, that meant you had to put in 40 hours of hard work. You might had to drive one hour to work in the morning and one hour in the evening to get back home. You had to pay for the gas to get  to work and back; and you had to pack a lunch or eat out. After all of that, you collect a wage or salary. For most of you, this is where the BULK of your income comes from… If you don’t go to work, you don’t collect a check.

As you can see in the breakdown above, only 8.6% of the super wealthy’s income comes from a job…. In other words, if you want to become RICH — you shouldn’t be working for ‘the Man’.

Plus… the working man or woman who earns a wage/salary will have more money deducted out of their pay check than the guy earning income on capital gains… I’ll explain later.

6.6% of the super-rich’s income came from interests… They might have had money in the bank and 6.6% of that income came from the interests they’ve earned.

13% of their income came from dividends… Dividends are a sum of money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders out of its profits. If you own stocks, you could receive ‘dividends’ (income).

19.9% of their income in 1999 came from partnerships and/or corporations. These folks might have started up companies or became silent partners by investing their money into these companies and now they’re earning income from it… For example, if someone from this group of 400 had income of $100 million, nearly $20 million of that money came from partnerships/corporations. It pays to have your own business!

45.8% of the super wealthy’s income came from ‘capital gains‘… A capital gain is the difference between what you paid for an investment and what you received when you sold that investment. If you made a profit on the investment, then you have a capital gain. Capital gains are profits you earn through buying and selling capital assets. Capital assets include things such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate, precious metals, coins, fine art, and other collectibles. Wages, interest, and dividends are considered ordinary income, not capital gains income.

For the super wealthy, they figured they’d keep more money in their pocket if their income came from capital gains… Capital gains are taxed much less than a typical wage earner… In other words, the 40-hour work week guy or lady will have more deducted from their check than the guy/lady who earns income from capital gains…

So why bother having a real job when you’ll be hit harder… Doesn’t make sense working that 9-to-5 when about 30% of your income is taxed right off the top…

To make good money, you need to leverage both your time and money… You gotta get your money to work for you instead of you working for your money.

These folks are investing in start-ups and local businesses. These folks are starting businesses. They’re investing their money in stocks, collectibles, antiques, fine art, real estate, etc… They’re really making their money work for them — not the other way around.

For example, I can go out and purchase an antique chair for $500 and resell it for $2,500.00. In this scenario, I made my money work for me and I didn’t have to punch a clock or spend 15 hours stuck in traffic during the week. Many people will need to put in 60-80 hours to earn the $2,000.00 profit I can make from that chair.

The average Joe or Jane’s income breakdown will look like this:

  • Wages/Salaries: 72% (that’s why so many of these types are struggling to get by)
  • Interest, dividends: 8.1%
  • Business income (corporations/partnerships): 7.5% (you need to be here)
  • Capital gains: 5.6% (you need to be here)

Seriously, working for the man will keep you in the poorhouse.

There are so many benefits to owning your own business and generating business income will create much more opportunity and finances to get yourself into many other types of investments — I’m a HUGE antiques guy. I buy and sell antique chairs… Instead of letting all of my money sit in a savings account earning pennies, I purchase antique chairs and resell them.

Whether it’s starting a t-shirt business or starting an earthworm composting company, do whatever makes you happy. Whatever actions you take today towards reaching your goals will set in motion the life you’ll have 5, 10, 15 or 20 years from now.

It’s starts today with a decision to do what you want…

If t-shirts is your thing….. Take a look at our course – my experiences will help you move along faster!

Start T-shirt Training Class

Cartess Ross


I will guide you through this process and provide you with proven strategies to help you build a t-shirt company. As one of the original pioneers to start selling t-shirts online 20 years ago, I've sold millions of dollars in t shirts to people all over the world. I founded TshirtRiches in 2007 to teach others how to turn their t-shirt ideas into a business. So if you're ready, hop onboard and let's make this money!

Cartess Ross

  • how can you put your design on a t0shirt when using a heat press machine?

  • Great info. I found a Power Pro heavy duty 15×15 heat press at an estate sale that includes transfer. Found where to find it through the modules, today could be the day we start making Tees. Thanks for all the info!

  • Im enjoying your blog updates. Thanks for being dedicated to sharing your stories. Nice to hear somebodys prospective. Im getting into tshirts to supplement my other business (promotional products) and its been nice to see whats happening for people in similiar but different business feilds. Thanks!

  • Cartess my man. Thanks! So true. Dead on.

  • Hi Cartess
    Would your course be suitable for someone from England?
    Would there be any major differences to consider?

    • Hi Tony,
      🙂 No, I’m afraid there’s absolutely no differences to consider. We have many members who live in England, and have been able to start their businesses with much success.
      The knowledge of the tshirt business and the marketing principles are universal. The information that’s included in the course will work any where in the world. However, results will vary depending your ability to apply all the material you’ve learned towards your business and your willingness to work hard. 🙂

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