Rich People

"To me one of the most exciting things in the world is being poor. Survival is such an exciting challenge. There was a study done about twenty years ago, I think at Harvard, which said that the average family of four could live on $68 a year. That's a balanced diet--everything they need for a year. Now today that might be $250 or $300, but when we see these people in line at supermarkets with all these food stamps, buying potato chips and snack foods and ice cream, I mean, give me a break! That's poverty?"

Discussing his inability to buy a TV network, Ted Turner said, "I feel like those Jewish people in Germany in 1942."

If you're still confused, check out Why Bill Gates is Richer than You.

Money is a resource which allows you to move energy in your direction Its not the ultimate resource (sex is closer) but it is pretty good at moving peoples asses. It should be used as a tool to extend progress.

-- dan ed, July 31, 1999

I was at a party a few weeks ago. There was a man there who said money caused happiness. I liked him because he was expressing an unpopular opinion and he did it well. The whole rest of the room was against him, maybe 16 people. They were all clamouring for the chance to tell him how wrong he was. He stuck by his guns.

I stayed silent the whole time. As I often do, I listened and remembered but didn't speak. I like to remember how people are at different times, how the mood of crowds changes from year to year, decade to decade.

There was something all wrong about that scene. 16 people claiming money doesn't bring happiness and just one person claiming that it does. Is this representitive of America? Did I stumble by accident into a nest of socialists, or enlightened spiritualists? A whole cabal of them, and just one man of ignorance? My own feeling is that most people in America love money, crave it, and do, in their hearts, believe that it brings happiness. But no one is allowed to say out loud what they really feel. That is why I liked the guy so much. I felt he was saying what everyone else felt, and they fought against him only because it was true. Mind you, he never said money SHOULD cause happiness, he simply said that, for most people, it did.

I do not, of course, remember everything he said, not word for word. However, I remember many of the things he said and I think I can recreate it. It went something like this:

"Money makes people happy. That's why people want it. People want sex because it feels good and they want money because it makes them feel good. Christ. Why can't we be honest about it? The only sad rich people are the ones who got abused as kids. Near as I see it. They're the only ones. I grew up rich. I know what I'm talking about. I knew a girl who tried to commit suicide. Turned out she'd been abused. Another guy became a heroin addict. Turned out he'd been abused. But in general? The rich people I knew were happy. Happier than the average person. By a long shot. Spiritual awakening? I'm not against spiritualists. I don't doubt they're happy. But the rest of us are materialists. How many of us lead really spiritual lives? I mean, really? How realistic is that? Most of us get our happiness from money, not the spirit. Most of us aren't evolved enough to get it from spirit, and never will be. I can't stand all these people who say they don't care about money, when everything they do communicates a concern about money. I dated a girl, she said she hated money, and she did, but anything we wanted to do, go to a restaurant, go to a movie, anything, it tore her up inside because to do those things we'd have to spend money. She thought about money every time she did anything. She hated it but she thought about it a lot more than I do. And I think about it a lot. The worst of them, the "I don't care about money" crowd, the very worst of them are the dotcom'ers. God I hate them. Oh, sure, so long as you're being paid twice the market average and you've got 5 million in stock then you don't give a damn about money. I'd like to take away just a tenth of these guy's wealth, then we'd see how much they don't care about money. Hell, if they don't care so much, why don't they give it away? They want it alright. Everybody wants it. And why do they want it? Would they want it so much if it didn't bring happiness?"

Now imagine this guy shouting this stuff while 16 other people are trying to shout him down, make him shut up, trying to make him recant his heresy, and you get a picture of the party I went to. It was a damn fine party. I probably enjoyed it more than any other I've been to this year.

--Lawrence Krubner

-- Lawrence Krubner, June 26, 2001

"We spend our youth attaining wealth. And we spend our wealth attaining youth."

-- Melissa Camire, November 15, 2001

HaHaHa...Money and happiness, the age old question. I live a life of poverty, of fairly deep poverty, in regards to, financial, matters anyway. I think that if money could buy my little girl a pair of shoes for school, or some new clothes, not hand me downs that are already needing mending, I would say that it could make me VERY happy. If Money could keep my house stocked in nutritional meals, so that I would NEVER have to tell her, "mommy will get you something to eat as soon as she figures out where she will find food" I would say that it could make me VERY happy. If having money meant that I could get christmas presents for my family, and not have to tell them yet again, "sorry, I just couldn't afford it this year" I would say that it could make me VERY happy. If money were to enable me to buy my mom a house, so she wouldn't have to live in a run down potential fire trap that she pays 600.00 a month for, I would say it would make me VERY happy. If money could buy me a little security, and peace of mind in this riotous world, then DAMMIT I'd be EXTREMELY happy. Yes folks, I live in the good old U.S.ofA I work my butt off at a menial job, my husband works his butt off at a menial, (although, very neat job) and we STILL have to rely on organizations to give us food donations, clothes donations, and they sponser our holiday dinners with expired food stuffs(not their fault, they can only work with what they got). If it weren't for these groups, we wouldn't make it, unless we didn't pay bills, or rent. So I suggest putting your money where your mouth is, If you think money is such an EVIL... Give all yours away, and live like me. We would soon see how fast you might change your minds. If your money doesn't make you happy give it to someone like me who could REALLY appreciate it. And then you yourself can experience the joys of learning to cook with only some macaroini, a can of tuna, some lima beans, and maybe a bit of cheese, (if you're lucky, and it is still salvagable after you cut the mold off), (hey it's basically mold anyway right?) Join our ranks with no health insurance,drive beat up cars that we need desperatley so we can get to our crappy but needed jobs. Don't forget how those self same cars break down every other day, and need repairs that we really can't afford but have to get. Try to go into places in shabby clothes, and get treated like a sub-human, no matter what your inteligence level. Try just once going to court to get evicted,five days before christmas, just because you were three days late on your rent, to a greedy slumlord who won't fix anything, and see how much respect you get from the judge just because you look poor , and your landlord looks like a respectable buisness man. If your money can't buy you happiness, it sure could buy me some.

-- Danni Blake, August 27, 2002

I am a poor college student who is apart of a poor family. In spite of my financial situation I consider myself to be very rich. I am apart of a family(my momma and my three siblings) who I love very dearly and who loves me back. I have a very close relationship with my family. Ive experienced times when there was no food in our refrigerator, times when my family and I ate hot water cornbread for a week, because all we had was cornmeal and hot water, times when we had no money to buy christmas presents, and the list goes on. Through all of that my family stuck together. I can understand why people say that it is better to be poor. Yeah when youre rich you get to buy all kinds of "stuff". You get to live in the big houses, drive nice cars, go to expensive resturants, "live the life". Rich people have to always have their guard up because someone will always try to take the "stuff" they work so hard to get. Money can't buy friends, family who love you, values, or love. Any one can make money at any time when they put their minds to it. But those things that money can't buy aren't always up for grabbs.

-- Lisa Taylor, November 3, 2002

I'm rich but I sure wasn't born that way. I have worked harder and paid dues more than most to attain the financial level of success that I currently enjoy. Aside from the toys I can afford or my every comfort fulfilled, my life would be meaningless if I did not have the compassion and genuine commitment of that special someone I love. She and our beautiful daughter make life worth living and meaningful not the millions I earn. Her love was there as I struggled to reach my financial goals. Her love gave me strength. If people ever want to attain a financial goal, my first suggestion is that they don't put much emphasis on money but on principles, integrity and humanity. These are the qualities that you need to attain any goal.
Image: Boo4.jpg

-- Don Mahoney, November 5, 2002

In truth, the only thing that money can't buy is poverty.

Being rich or just well off is not a sin. The constant attacks on the rich are a bore. They are not the enemy, the politicans are.

-- William Rudder, May 3, 2003

First off, I would just like to say that you all are the biggest bunch of whiners I have ever seen. I mean, I am poor. I am very poor and I grew up in a poor family. I'm talking the kind of poor where you don't pay one bill because it's not as important or isn't yet due and pay another that you've made an arrangement with, with the hope they don't turn it off before you get it in. But I am not going to whine about how unfair life was/is. Fact of the matter is that those who have money work *hard* to try to keep it just like we work hard to try to get it. Everyone who is talking about how poor they are.. how bad it is for them knows that when you get a few dollars, it goes just like that. It's the same for those who have money. Lines of family have to keep up with what they have, and make more in hope that their airs carry on. They have to EDUCATE their children to make the right investments and the such. My mother have worked for people .. doctors, judges, lawyers who have gone from riches to rags because of poor decisions of their own or decisions their children have made. Granted, If I were given so many thousand dollars, I could probably invest and budget better than someone who's always had something would if they were given the same amount and was thrown into the world and then again, maybe not. It all goes back to what you're taught. That's getting all off subject. This is what I want to say: What's the point of being bitter because someone is better off than you? There are things you can do and ways to do it. There ARE people whom have gone from rags to riches and vice versa. Money is spent the same way in every class. It's those who are educated that will excel.

-- Alefaye McKenna, May 12, 2003

My opinion is rich people and poor people are all alike. It's up to them to see how they see money. When I came to America 10 years ago, I had nothing in my pocket. Now ten years later at the age of 25, I own a company that does over $10 million in sales. As of today, I am still the same guy that I was 10 years ago. I wish people would just stop and think how those rich people became rich. It took me a lot of hard work and mistakes to get where I am at and I wish people would think like that instead of being jealous. Anyone in this world can become rich especially in America. America offer so much opportunity and freedom. If a guy like me can do this so can anyone else. Excuses for not trying to get rich is just an ignorant way of saying you're lazy. If anyone want to be rich, if they try hard enough, they will achieve their goals.

-- tom nuy, September 26, 2003

Some of my family & friends have become rich in the last few years, and I have to say it has been a significant financial hardship for me. I don't know if anyone else has had this experience. They expect me to be able to do things I simply can't afford. My husband and I have maybe a couple of hundred extra dollars a month to play with, and we should really apply that to credit cards. And of course, I get 2 weeks of vacation per year.

My rich family & friends expect me to visit them (at my expense), spend time and money on their interests and projects, etc. I've delved into this a bit with them, and one of them admitted that they find it satisfying to make people spend money on their behalf. Evidently, it makes them feel more loved, as it is the opposite of their normal interactions in which they are expected to pay for everything because they are rich. If they can get me to spend money to visit, or on their pet projects, then I must have some genuine affection for them. The state of my credit cards attests to my affection for these folks, but my affection is fast becoming eroded by the state of my credit cards.

Interesting pickle to be in.

-- Nan Wimberly, October 28, 2003

What is money? Money is a symbol (printed paper, minted coins, a number on a bank's ledger) that represents an ability to obtain goods or services. It has this power because a government says it does. As long as people believe in that government, money distributed by it retains its value. Being rich is the state of having much more money (or access to money) than is necessary for survival. Why does being rich make some happy, and not others? Because money gives people a sense of security. Money represents, in an abstract sense, a freedom from the fear of not having what you need or want. When a person only needs or wants food, shelter, entertainment, and other material things, being rich makes them happy. When their lives are missing the things that money can't buy, like self-respect, friendship, love, and other non-material things, being rich does not make them happy. Their money does not release them from the fear of being alone, or of disliking who they are, or of being unloved.

Here's another thought on the nature of money: Start with the idea that money represents an ability to obtain goods and services. It is distributed by a government, to government employees and through central banks. The banks redistribute the money through other banks, eventually to companies and citizens in the form of loans. Money therefore becomes not only a symbol of the power to obtain services and material goods, but also a symbol of a responsibility to provide goods and services. When this power and responsibility are balanced, one is neither rich nor poor. If power is greater than responsibility, one is rich. And if one has more responsibility than power, they are poor. The simplest example of this is a bank account. If you have some savings, say three months worth, and no loans, then you are free to decide what to do with your time and energy for the next three months. If on the other hand you have no savings, and a mortgage on your home, then you have a responsibility to work until the loan is paid off.

Can money represent something more concrete than power and responsibility? I believe that it can. Borrowing some concepts from Thermodynamics, money represents mass and energy. Mass is the physical material that the goods are made of (usually a small portion of their monetary value), and energy is the amount of human labor required to produce the goods, or the amount of labor required in service. If a product is machine-made, then the energy required to build and run the machine is counted. This view of economics is very similar to ideas put forth by both Adam Smith in "Wealth of Nations" and Karl Marx in "Das Kapital." What is missing, however, is the acknowledgment of the Thermodynamic Law which states that mass and energy cannot be created or destroyed. What this means is that money, besides representing the ability to obtain goods and services for the person who holds it, also represents a lack of the same ability for everyone else in the world. When money is concentrated in one part of the world, the lack of that money is felt throughout the rest of the world.

Of course one can argue that since money is nothing but a symbol, and a government can simply produce more whenever it is necessary, the conservation law should not apply. But because people must believe that their money has real value and represents mass and energy (although they probably wouldn't state it that way) in order for it to have any meaning, the conservation law is enforced. When more money is produced, instead of mass and energy being created, what we see is inflation, or devaluation of the money. The same amount of wealth is still present, there are just more pieces with less value per piece. Of course, Earth is not a closed system. We are bombarded by solar energy, and a small amount of matter and energy reach us from elsewhere in the galaxy. We also radiate and reflect heat, thereby returning some to the rest of the universe. But accumulation due to this transfer is small, and production of money outpaces it.

So if accumulation of wealth indirectly deprives others of it, in some cases to the point of extreme poverty, is there a more fair way to distribute it? I'm glad you asked! You can send it to me. Just kidding. Socialism tried to tackle this problem, but it is not any more fair and in practice does not really work. Capitalism hopes to let things balance naturally, but interference from government and greed among some people can tilt the balance so far that it can be impossible to return it. So what choice do we have? Given the long history of well-meaning government being unable to fairly manage an economy, I believe that the best solution is to simply ask people with more than enough wealth to voluntarily give some back. I don't mean giving up everything but the bare necessities. I just mean that a person with several multi-million dollar houses should seriously consider whether they should keep all of them, knowing that each one represents a drain on the world's economy. Or maybe the owner of a large company could pay his employees a little better than what he thinks they deserve, because all of his profit represents energy spent by a worker somewhere that wasn't fairly compensated. Maybe if everyone thought about it that way, there wouldn't be any happy rich people.

If you liked this essay and think it makes sense, send it to a rich person you know (or don't know).

-- James T, July 20, 2004

Hi Everyone, I was just reading some of the recent posts here. Since I posted three years ago, Re-reading my post, I have the opportunity to look back over time to a snapshot of how life was for me back then. I have seen some postings from people along the lines of "stop bitching about rich people" (blah,blah,blah) I wanted to clarify that I was NOT bitching about anyone. I know that no matter what your financial status, everyone has problems. (Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle, Confucious?) I was not necessarily bitching about being poor either. I was only trying to state the fact that money would indeed bring happiness into my life. I still have moments of happiness, even without money. There are joys, triumphs, and occasionally good times. I have to laugh at some of these people though, that seem to think that someone in my situation has to get off of my butt to find better opportunities so that I can make great riches? I want them to tell me how? Please? My e-mail is LordTangaloorFirefoot@yahoo.com I will happily take direction, and listen to whatever advice a rich person has for me to get off of my butt, more than I do now, to acheive great riches. My situation has really only changed a little. I have been working harder than ever, as I started in school last year, and that has only proven to pose even more financial problems. I am now working two jobs, only to still only just make ends meet, never anything left over. This cycle of poverty has been going on for my entire life! I never had anyone give me large sums of cash, or anything that has tangible economic value for rites of passage gifts, I never had anyone to depend on but myself for help when I need it. C'mon people! Tell me your secrets! I am ready! I am just getting so tired........ Everyday is just a battle for basic survival, a very energy consuming battle.....and i am tired. So if someone wants to tell me what I can do, and I mean hold my hand and walk me through it, I'm all ears! Bring it on! Don't just prattle about the virtues of investing either, I have researched everything I could ever think of on that subject, and the only thing I have really learned is you have to HAVE money to MAKE money. I have absolutley NO money.. So, where do I start from there? I really want someone to tell me? Please?

-- Danni Blake, April 21, 2005

I want to let everyone know the truth. I grew up with nothing and I always thought that if I had money I would be happy and would be as good as everyone else. I had low self esteem and still suffer from low self esteem. Long story short, I started a brokerage firm at the age of 24 and became a multi millionaire by the age of 26. I'm now turning 31 and I'm not a happy person. Your family and your relationship with God are the only things that really count. My business is now going through a really tough time and you know what, I'm grateful because it brings what's really important back into focus. I feel like God allowed me to see that money is of very little worth and that if your focus isn't on your family it's in the wrong place. We're all headed for the big dirt nap and life's way to short to be consumed by material things. I remember being in church as a small child when my parents were going through a really tough time financially. A couple in our church gave a talk on why wealth doesn't bring happiness. I remember being angry at them and feeling a tremendous amount of hate for them because they had everything and we had very little. I thought to myself easy for you to say when you can go anywhere you want, eat anything you want, drive a nice car and wear expensive clothes. I wish I could convey how right these people were. I had a very sobering experience a year ago, my sister offered to watch my daughter while we went on vaction. I had to get directions to her house which is in the same city I live in. She's lived in that house for seven years. I'm ashamed of how I've behaved and I'm guilty of other things that involve negelecting my family. I deserve to loose everything because of how I've behaved, my fathers teeth are falling out and I've ignored his needs as well as the needs of other people in my family. I hope this touches just one person. Money should be used to help the ones you love and those that suffer and not for expensive crap that does nothing for you. My mom tried to tell me that I was trying to fill emotional voids with material things and that it was a war I'd never win, she was right. I know I'm just some abstract person on the net but I promise you the old saying is so very true "money doen't buy happiness" you might get temporary joy but it fades quickly. Love your family with all your heart because in life their the only ones that will always be there for you. (Sorry for my spelling it's never been a strong point)God Bless You All In these Very Difficult Times!

-- orion willis, February 14, 2009

I have learned one thing since getting layed off on 08/15/09....NOBODY wants to talk to you when you are broke. My sister, who used to call me to "do lunch" when I was making $46,000 a year, hasn't called me in over 2 months unless she needed something and even then, she got off the phone as quickly as she could. SCARED TO DEATH that I might ask her for a damn dime!!! My son went to bed one night after eating a supper of a cheese sandwich and he woke up to a breakfast of popcorn. My sister who lives 30 minutes from me has 3 kids. Her two daughters, 17 and 19, both have a Visa debit card that is linked to my sister's savings so that anything they might want while driving home in their cars from high school and college, all they have to do is use their Visa. Whether it be gas in their cars, Taco Bell or a freaking COKE from the convenient market, they don't have to worry about MONEY!!! For the past 2-1/2 months, I have worried about money every day. How am I going to get supper for tonight? How long can I go without paying my water bill before it's cut off? Or my electric or cable bills? Will my landlord let me be 2 weeks late this month since the first 4 months of my 6-month lease were on time? Will he wait until I get my first unemployment check? Like a dumb ass, I waited a month to file for unemployment because I was SURE I would have another job right away. Then, I filed for unemployment in TN, even though my employer's home office was in TX and that took another 2 weeks to find out that I didn't have any wages in TN. I have 3 older sisters and 2 younger brothers and the only one who has been decent to me is the brother who is 1 year and 9 months younger. He owns his own company and paid my rent for September and October. Let me tell everyone one thing I've learned. Without money, YOU ARE NOTHING in this world. Nobody likes to loan you money. They may do it if you are family, but they talk behind your back with questions like "why doesn't she apply for food stamps? Why doesn't her son have a job? Why can't she go to her local food bank? OMG. What did she DO with the LAST $20 I loaned her?" The people who still have their jobs and their money and their pride will always be ready to point their fingers and come up with all kinds of self-esteem bashing ideas for you to survive. THEY wouldn't want to go slithering into their local food bank, but they expect YOU to be GRATEFUL and HAPPY to do it!!! I don't care if I EVER find another husband. I don't care if I EVER go on a date the rest of my life. But one thing I WILL do. I WILL take every dime I make from now on and spend it on me, myself and my son. I won't EVER loan my family money. I won't ever help THEM out of a jam. I won't babysit, I won't drive them to the doctor, I won't take care of anyone but ME and MY SON. NOBODY has compassion until they walk in your shoes. And if they never do? They will never know what it feels like to be broke. I'm all about the money from now on. I can do without a man's arms around me but I won't do without money anymore. Every spare moment I have will be spent getting customers for my new business. And I WILL have a big, fat emergency fund so that I am NEVER broke again.

-- Rebecca McGuire, November 8, 2009