Book Review: "Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!"

I know that many people have already read this book, and a great many more have already heard of it. But due to a recent experience in Seattle this last weekend, I thought it prudent to review it anyway.

While walking along the coast in Seattle, a man passed me wearing a fluorescent colored t-shirt that said "TAX THE RICH". He might as well have been walking around carrying a sign that he constantly yelled out loud proclaiming "I am an ignorant, arrogant, lazy slob!" One of the valuable concepts that follows along the message of this phenomenal book is this: "That which you tax, less people will do. While that which you subsidize, more people will do." That poor guy I saw in Seattle basically wanted to work less and make more money and let the people who work hard and make lots of money pay for the streets he drives on and the military that protects his home. (Not to mention that he would have them pay for his health care, his groceries, and his childcare so he can go sip espresso and read the Huffington Post without having to worry about his kids.)

Yet, I digress. The bottom line is this: everyone needs to read this book. People need to understand money and how it works as well as why there are rich people and why there are poor people. Everyone needs to learn that money itself is not an inherently bad thing, as a matter of fact, a lack of money can cause a heck of a lot more problems in a marriage, community, or society than having it in excess. This book is not very long, and it is written so as to be incredibly easy to read and understand; it is not like reading a financial accounting text book. So go get it and read it today, you'll be glad you did.