but if you're not reinvesting your passive will shrink over time due to inflation(I'm not sure about US but here in Brazil the dividends are subtracted from the stock valuation), so even then it requires some kind of maintenance. Capitalism is inherently competitive, if some way to generate capital is too easy it will become hard quite fast due to competition. If you can still make some money out of investing is because most people don't have the money or education to invest.