The American myth is simple: if you are smart, if you work hard, you will rise. The reality is brutal: millions of bright, educated people end up broke, marginalized, or invisible. I know, because I am one of them. With credentials in hand, at 67, I’ve been denied the wealth and stability that should have come. The system already extracted what it could — and tossed me aside.

The Trap of Intelligence in a Rigged Economy

Being smart doesn’t mean being rewarded. Research shows that wealth in the United States correlates far more with family inheritance than with talent or education (Saez & Zucman, 2019). The ladder is greased for the children of privilege, not for those who question authority or challenge unjust systems.

The Dunning–Kruger effect tells us that those with the least competence often overestimate themselves (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). The flip side? Those who are competent often doubt themselves — and get sidelined in systems that prize loud confidence over quiet ability. In politics, in corporations, and in academia, it is swagger that sells, not substance.

Smart people often refuse to play the game of sycophancy and self-promotion. They become inconvenient witnesses to the lies of the powerful — and the system punishes them for it.

How Fascism Makes It Worse

Fascist movements thrive by gutting social mobility. By attacking unions, privatizing education, and funneling resources upward, they erase pathways for ordinary people to thrive. Under MAGA-style authoritarianism, intelligence that doesn’t serve the regime is cast as “elitist” and mocked, while ignorance is elevated as “authentic.”

America has already created a knowledge paradox: the people who could solve crises are locked out, while those causing them are rewarded. That is not an accident. It is design.

How We Destroy the Trend

  1. Redistribute Wealth — Tax inheritance, tax wealth, and stop pretending that billionaires “earned” their fortunes.
  2. Strengthen Labor — Workers must organize across industries to secure wages that reflect the actual value of their labor.
  3. Democratize Education — End tuition debt traps, expand public education, and defend intellectual freedom against fascist book bans.
  4. Redefine Success — Break the cultural lie that money equals intelligence. Honor teachers, caregivers, and community builders.

My Role Now

At 67, I’m not done — I’ve simply shifted fronts. They denied me the material rewards, but they did not silence me. My role now is to record what the powerful hide, to mentor those who will carry the fight forward, and to build the networks that will outlast fascism. I may not cash in, but I can make sure the next generation is better armed with knowledge and courage.

They took my paychecks. They don’t get my fire.

👉 https://endfascism.xyz

References

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121

Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2019). The triumph of injustice: How the rich dodge taxes and how to make them pay. W.W. Norton & Company.