3 Ways the System is Designed to Keep You Poor
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." — J. Krishnamurti
We’re taught to believe that if we work hard, save diligently, and follow the rules, we’ll eventually become wealthy.
But what if the game was rigged from the start?
The truth is, the system is not designed to help most people achieve financial freedom — it’s designed to keep them dependent, distracted, and struggling.
Here’s how.
1️⃣ Education Trains You to Be an Employee, Not an Owner
From an early age, most of us are taught to get good grades, secure a "safe" job, and work until retirement.
What we aren’t taught is how to build assets, invest, or create businesses.
The curriculum almost never includes financial literacy, investing, or wealth-building strategies — skills that are crucial for escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck trap.
📄 Data: A 2022 survey by the National Financial Educators Council found that 57% of Americans feel financial education would have helped them manage money better. Yet only 21 states in the U.S. require high school students to take a personal finance course.
💡 Result: You become a cog in the economic machine, optimized to serve corporate profits rather than your own freedom.
2️⃣ The Debt Trap Keeps You Chasing Your Tail
Student loans, credit cards, car loans, and mortgages — most of these debts are designed to lock you into a cycle of repayment that lasts decades.
The moment you start working, you’re often already in debt. Instead of building assets, your income goes straight to paying interest, limiting your ability to invest or take entrepreneurial risks.
📄 Data: In the U.S., the average household debt is $101,915 (Experian, 2023). Globally, consumer debt levels are also rising sharply, especially in developing economies.
💡 Result: You keep working to service debt rather than building true wealth, effectively becoming a modern-day indentured servant.
3️⃣ Inflation Erodes Your Savings
While you’re taught to "save for a rainy day," the value of your money quietly diminishes every year through inflation.
If your salary grows at 3% but inflation runs at 6%, you're actually losing money in real terms — even if you "save diligently." Meanwhile, those who own assets (stocks, real estate, businesses) often see their wealth grow faster than inflation.
📄 Data: According to the International Monetary Fund, global inflation in 2022 was around 8.8%, the highest since the early 1980s. Meanwhile, U.S. wages only grew by about 5%, meaning most workers lost purchasing power.
💡 Result: You feel like you’re making progress, but you’re actually standing still or moving backward — all while the rich get richer.
What You Can Do Instead
✅ Invest early and consistently — even small amounts grow over time.
✅ Focus on building assets, not just income.
✅ Educate yourself about money, because no one else will do it for you.
✅ Avoid lifestyle inflation — don’t let higher income automatically lead to higher expenses.
The Bottom Line
The system wants you to stay broke enough to keep working, anxious enough to keep consuming, and ignorant enough to stay quiet.
Recognizing these structural traps is the first step toward financial freedom.
You don’t have to play their game forever — but first, you have to realize you’re playing it.
References
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National Financial Educators Council. (2022). Financial literacy survey results.
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Experian. (2023). State of credit and debt in America.
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International Monetary Fund. (2022). World Economic Outlook: Countering the Cost-of-Living Crisis.