Do you think people who have money are bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some wealthy people start to measure their own worth, or the worth of others, by how much they have or how they came by it. They start to believe that luxuries are necessities. They become slaves to their houses and cars and clubs and schools. These people can be undone by their own success because they are chasing a false dream. In the process, they let materialism and greed change their character until they are valueless. And some of them lose it all when fortunes change. It is so hard to believe that people with many millions of dollars can end up ruined. But it happens.


I read a post on this site that really got me thinking. OP asked a question along these lines: 'how do I tell my children they can't have something when they know we can afford it'? I realized, as I scanned through the posts, that most people had no way to answer the question. They had no value system that give them reasons for limiting what they bought aside from what they could pay for. Their only moral guide was economics. Older generations knew that there is virtue in thrift and that excess could do real harm.
There is another way to look at wealth. Wealth can provide freedom and opportunity. Plenty of people look at it that way. Money gives them the chance to spend time with family, do interesting things either in their jobs or outside of them, and to do good things for others. They can still enjoy simple things. Possessions are not their drug of choice.

So I guess I don't hate wealth but I am deeply suspicious of materialism.

I thought this was one of the best post. I think for me there are a lot of emotions mixed in with discussions of wealth. To some extent people make choices and they want to feel like their choices are validated. It's hard to not get into a pissing contest of who works harder, who saved more, who has come the furthest etc. when reality is really that life isn't fair. You can work hard and make 40K and you can work hard and make 400K. Maybe you had your parents give you guidance - either on what to do or what not to do and that made a difference. Sometimes it is just luck or learning from a mistake that was easy to come back from.

I think the hardest thing for me is when someone with money complains about taxes. I guess I try to keep in mind that there are no guarantees about wealth, your child can get sick, you can have something happen that is not covered by insurance , your money could be embezzeled, your company can go bankrupt and you don't want to be defined by having money and what that money can buy. Having that sense of humility, empathy, and not seeming like wealth makes a person invulnerable to all of life ills is the difference to me liking someeone with money and not.

[Anonymous]

Wealthy people make me sick when they get nose jobs,breast implants,all sorts of surgery,getting high on drugs, sleeping around with anything that crosses their path,complaining about paying taxes,not giving tips after recieving service, starving themselves(stupid anorexic blondes),DRUG overdoses,commiting suicide.....I hate them and I dont get it!!!!!
I think if they lost all their wealth and were dropped to zero then they would appreciate more and stop acting foolish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wealthy people make me sick when they get nose jobs,breast implants,all sorts of surgery,getting high on drugs, sleeping around with anything that crosses their path,complaining about paying taxes,not giving tips after recieving service, starving themselves(stupid anorexic blondes),DRUG overdoses,commiting suicide.....I hate them and I dont get it!!!!!
I think if they lost all their wealth and were dropped to zero then they would appreciate more and stop acting foolish.

Even poop people do this. Wealth or no wealth, appreciating life for what it is is a lot harder than it seems.

[Anonymous]

DH and I have both been successful at our high paying careers and as a result have ended up with a high HHI. We enjoy the benefits of having had this success but I think it is very important to keep things in perspective. It has very little to do with hard work (although we both work pretty hard and are responsible and diligent). For me, I view it as primarily good fortune in that I was lucky enough to be smart in school subjects that served me well and I really enjoy a career that is rewarded financially. To the PP, I hate people who complain about taxes at high income brackets too! I also get very aggravated by those who earn at high levels who forget that their experience is not the norm. Maybe it helps that my family with whom I am very close is solidly middle class and it is humbling to me that I make more than my parents ever did even though my dad was an engineer. Trying my best not to spoil my kids including telling them that they can't have something because it is too much to spend for that, even when we could certainly do it. Worry about this a lot because my kids are in many ways "spoiled" in the sense of having things much better than I or my DH did as kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wealthy people make me sick when they get nose jobs,breast implants,all sorts of surgery,getting high on drugs, sleeping around with anything that crosses their path,complaining about paying taxes,not giving tips after recieving service, starving themselves(stupid anorexic blondes),DRUG overdoses,commiting suicide.....I hate them and I dont get it!!!!!
I think if they lost all their wealth and were dropped to zero then they would appreciate more and stop acting foolish.

Even poop people do this. Wealth or no wealth, appreciating life for what it is is a lot harder than it seems.

This PP is all over the Britney Murphy thread, too. Speaking of foolish. Poor people don't complain about taxes, sleep around, tip poorly, abuse drugs or alcohol, commit suicide... ? Okay, I'll concede you probably don't have a lot of low-income folks at the plastic surgeon's, but come now, with that one exception, NONE of the rest are exclusive to the wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Money and power allows you to be more of who you already are. It gives you more options and makes it easier to fall victim to the vices of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

[Anonymous]

18:03 - News flash. Wealthy people complain about taxes because they are subsidizing everyone else (YOU) and not getting anything "extra" in return. Let's hear how you sound after paying high taxes. Don't be so ungrateful. Typical.

BTW, I've seen plenty of my neighbors trying to dodge taxes. THAT is who you should be addressing. They are shortchanging you, my dear.

Why don't you educate yourself a little?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Exactly! Someone who gets it!

Working hard - WHAT a concept!

This implies that other people do not work hard. You are terribly out of touch with the average person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I have both been successful at our high paying careers and as a result have ended up with a high HHI. We enjoy the benefits of having had this success but I think it is very important to keep things in perspective. It has very little to do with hard work (although we both work pretty hard and are responsible and diligent). For me, I view it as primarily good fortune in that I was lucky enough to be smart in school subjects that served me well and I really enjoy a career that is rewarded financially. To the PP, I hate people who complain about taxes at high income brackets too! I also get very aggravated by those who earn at high levels who forget that their experience is not the norm. Maybe it helps that my family with whom I am very close is solidly middle class and it is humbling to me that I make more than my parents ever did even though my dad was an engineer. Trying my best not to spoil my kids including telling them that they can't have something because it is too much to spend for that, even when we could certainly do it. Worry about this a lot because my kids are in many ways "spoiled" in the sense of having things much better than I or my DH did as kids.

I think that is very honest. When I look among my (wealthy) peers I see that a lot of them had one or two lucky breaks. Most of them started companies that hit it big. When they start a second business, it usually doesn't go as well. Why? They got lucky the first time and less lucky the second. There are few repeat entrepreneurs.

[Anonymous]

HUMILITY - not so prevalent here. What a concept!

Most people would never know we're loaded. It's easier that way.

[Anonymous]

17:41: yours is exactly the attitude that I can't stand. I am the PP who is lucky enough to have a high income. We pay taxes in the six figures every year in a high tax bracket and pay in DC as well. And I don't begrudge paying those taxes. I recognize that I am not a better (or more hard working or more virtuous) person because I make more money, I am just largely lucky and lucky enough to have been born pretty smart. My family has more than enough to meet our needs, so why shouldn't we contribute to making the country be able to do things that take care of all of us. Even after paying those taxes I have more money and more opportunity than almost any one else on the planet. So what would I reasonably have to complain about? Indeed, I always think about it in terms of my relatives again. I know that paying an extra $1000 means little to my family but paying an extra $100 would mean something to them. So in fairness the extra should come from families like mine, not theirs.

[Anonymous]

19:51 - you make little if any sense. It's your family's money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

18:03 - News flash. Wealthy people complain about taxes because they are subsidizing everyone else (YOU) and not getting anything "extra" in return. Let's hear how you sound after paying high taxes. Don't be so ungrateful. Typical.

BTW, I've seen plenty of my neighbors trying to dodge taxes. THAT is who you should be addressing. They are shortchanging you, my dear.

Why don't you educate yourself a little?

I agree!

[Anonymous]

We are in the high income tax bracket, and we don't agree with having to pay extra tax. We don't think it's fair, mainly because we don't agree with the way the government handles tax money. We give beaucoup money to church and various charities, and we don't mind at all. We do it because we want to. We do pay our taxes accurately and just because we "complain" about high taxes doesn't make us bad or immoral. There really are "some people" I'd rather not share my hard earned money with.

[Anonymous]

When systems allow for people to become outrageously wealthy, something is wrong. I think people who are outrageously wealthy who feel entitled to their wealth and have no concept of poverty are highly irritating.