Money, money, money

How much is enough?  When it comes to wealth, it seems the answer is: it is never enough.  Why is it that the more a person has the more they want?  Greed is a handy answer and I have probably used it, but I think it is much more complicated than that.  Money/wealth is power, either real power or the sense of power over ones environment.  And maybe that is the real driver.  If one has enough money they can control everything from their own life experiences to laws passed by the government.  Oh yeah, there is lots of things included in that range, but it all seems to me the objective is the same.  We want to ensure that we never have to worry about anything material, that our children and their children will never want for anything, that we can go where we want, how we want and when we want.  We want to protect ourselves and the ones we love from want, fear and sickness. 

But how much money does it take to “control our environment” like this?  In reality, we can never control everything.  People get sick, have accidents, markets crash, kids run away and things go bad sometimes.  And money ends up consuming us with more and more concern about keeping it and keeping reality and things that want to take away our wealth at bay.  Maslow talked about the human ”hierarchy of needs”  1. Physiological, 2. Safety, 3. Love/belonging, 4. Esteem, 5. Self-actualization, in that order.    So many people with lots of money find themselves stuck in the first two levels and striving for the third and missing.  Their obsession with what they have and wanting to keep what they have ends up getting between them and feeling loved and a part of something.  Those that are lucky to have family and friends who really love and accept them for more than just their wealth are a lucky few who then strive to be valued for their success or contributions and a very few may reach self-actualization.  You could certainly argue that money can buy the first two and an illusion of the third, but not the last two and may actually hamper your ability to reach self-actualization.  Just giving money to some charity, no matter how worthy doesn’t get you there, and if the only reason you are doing it is to be well regarded, as a tax haven or other self interest, then you missed it from the start. 

But money does begat more money.  When you reach a certain level of wealth, things start being free to you, especially if you are well known.  Discounts for large purchases, the use of cash versus credit special offers for favored customers and then there are the tax laws.  The top tax rate from WW II until the early 60’s was 91%, when it was changed to 70%, then to 50% in 1978 and kept getting lower until 1986 when it went to 28% for the wealthiest Americans.  And as we saw last year, the wealthy have so many havens and exceptions, they really pay less than 20% in income taxes.  I am not going to argue here if that is right or wrong, but the tax laws are drafted by and for the wealthy.  It’s a fact, not an opinion.  There are really two sets of rules for the wealthy and for the rest of Americans in much of the world of commerce.  Yes, I know they pay a large percentage of the taxes taken, but that is because they are so stinking rich that even 15% of their income is a large number.  And anyone who thinks the “no new taxes” push has anything to do with the middle class is not paying attention.  The rules favor the rich, they write the rules and they don’t want to pay any more for bridges, roads, education, technology, etc unless it is for their own kids.  And the shrinking of the middle class and growth of the lowest economic levels doesn’t bother them a bit.  I am not saying they are uncaring or that they don’t give to charitable entities, quite the contrary, they give more dollars to churches, charities and non-profits than everyone else.  They are giving to things that mean something to them personally.  It might be their college, the cancer foundation named for their lost loved one or even a local church they used to attend. 
As a matter of fact, they are much more informed of the work of those they contribute to than most of us are.  But the stuff that has to be paid for by taxes, not so much.

I see a fear in the wealthy.  A fear of losing it all.  Maybe that is what drove them to be so successful (unless daddy gave it to them).  Maybe it is the fear of being one of “us” that drives them to work hard, amass more and more wealth, when they really have everything they could possibly want.  They fear the lack of control of their environment will result in disaster.  This is level 2 according to Maslow.  They are afraid someone will take it away from them be it the taxman, the poor, the immigrants, lawyers, whoever.  So, though they are rich in money and things, they are poor in terms of what we know really is important which is peace.  OK, not going to the hippy/no war place, I mean they have no peace in their lives and minds because worrying about your net worth is hard.  It keeps you up at nights, gives you ulcers, makes you jumpy.  I think it is a sickness, this desire for more and more wealth.  Like an addiction you can never truly feed and for which there is never enough.  Does that mean, I feel sorry for the wealthy, maybe a little.  Do I envy them?  Not a bit.  I have my basic needs met, I feel as safe as you can in tornado alley, I feel loved and valued and I am working on that last level, not there yet.  Do I wish I had more money to take care of emergencies, sure but it doesn’t keep me up at night and I wouldn’t trade where I am with where the wealthy are.  And regardless of the tax rates, political party in control and government spending, they will always be wealthy and running the government.  So to be at peace, I need to be at peace with that.