Getting rich quick in old-time Phoenix


As someone who taught at a Community College, I like to talk to young people about doing more than just working, about creating a career for themselves, getting paid for what they love. This really isn't the same as "getting rich quick", but most professional careers tend to pay better than "dead-end jobs", and besides the whole point is to do something that you enjoy doing, that inspires you to go to your job every day. Most of the people I've ever met hate their jobs, and wish that they could find a way to get rich quick so that they can quit. The rare people that I've met have loved the work they do (and I'm one of those oddballs, who loved being a graphic designer), are more inclined to talk about their projects than dollars and cents, and are anxious to see what the next interesting project will be, not imagining themselves sitting on a island somewhere, doing nothing.

As I've often said, my wish is that I would never be poor, and never be rich, and I got my wish. Getting rich schemes have never interested me, nor has playing the lottery, or anything like that. This is what I recommend for a long and happy life, having enough money to keep the wolf away from the door, but not so much of a lust for wealth that it tempts you into "get rich quick" schemes, which of course never make people rich, and often just gets them in terrible trouble, both legally and financially.

And when I think of old-time Phoenix, I picture how it must have felt to see the wealthy people come rolling into town each winter, especially in the 1920s, and wonder if a poor boy like me could get his hands on a little of that easy money?

If you've ever looked into "get rich quick" schemes, you know that it's all about just sitting back, doing nothing, and letting the money roll in. Sometimes it takes money to make money, so an investment is required, and traditionally it's been your life savings, or if you're young, your "little all". Of course in the 1920s credit was easy to get, so even an average person could play the stock market, buying shares with borrowed money. Sophisticated investors call that buying on margin. When it works, it can make you rich, and when it doesn't, it doesn't.

Since I worked for a bank in the '90s, and was later a Series 63, I know the correct and dull way to invest your money. You start with a savings account, then a mortgage, then a whole life policy, then certificates of deposit, then mutual funds, and most people will never get to a point where they're investing directly in equity (stocks). It's the best way to invest and protect your money, and your loved ones, but it's dull, dull, dull. It has none of the thrill of the roulette wheel, and none of the excitement of watching the price of a stock that you've invested in skyrocket, or go down to zero.

There were a lot of ordinary people in the 1920s who gambled their money to get rich quick. And some did, but most were standing in breadlines by the 1930s with just about everyone else. You were really better off working on a farm, with steady work, healthy sunshine, and a little muscle on your arm!

Image at the top of this post: Washington and 1st Street in the 1920s, Phoenix, Arizona.
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