At 7% returns one can contribute 15k/yr to a roth and after 30 years it will be worth almost 2 million with "only" 540k invested.

1.2 million of untaxed income is pretty great.

https://www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html?ctype=endamount&ctargetamountv=1000000&cstartingprinciplev=0&cyearsv=30&cinterestratev=7&ccontributeamountv=1500&ciadditionat1=monthly&printit=0&x=76&y=30

A "regular" 401k/retirement account (not sure about HSA and others) reduces your tax burden now :

This year you made 80k and stashed 20k in your 401k retirement account. You pay 60k worth of income tax this year and it feels great to pay less in taxes.

but! assuming you do the same as the above scenario you pay taxes on the whole wad; the ENTIRE 1.8m is taxed as income when taken out.

You will likely make less while retired, and in that likely scenario the ENTIRE 1.8m will be taxed at a lower rate (because you have more income in a lower tax bracket). It still ALL will be taxed though vs. the Roth where most is not.

However! If like me you are hoping to be financially independent when you retire (big fat 2-5 million in index funds et al. feeding you 3% free money forever); you are likely planning to make the same or more when you retire. In this case the 401k pretty much only hurts you because you'll get taxed on the 'whole wad' while also being taxed at a higher bracket.

Obviously to be very thorough you need to evaluate your needs and decide which is best. There are probably scenarios where the "regular" (non-Roth) 401k retirement account reduces the amount you get taxed more than the Roth.

I am not an expert, accountant, or person that knows how to read very well. If I have made errors in this post of course let me know, but either way this is stuff every person (MGTOW or no) ought to be smart about. It'd be cool to see more posts like these from smarter people than me lol.