cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/5129769
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The original was posted on /r/thedeprogram by /u/mihirjain2029 on 2025-02-09 15:08:39+00:00.
A handful of people want to be Masters Of The Universe and neurotically own every single penny and paper piece of money that ever existed and will exist in the future even if it means they will never fully enjoy much of that wealth during their lifetime.
This society deifies the crazy cat lady syndrome as long as it’s with money rather than cats and, worse, the actual crazy cat ladies are driven by good intentions whilst those obcessed with hoarding money are driven by almost the opposite kind of feeling.
These people are literally sick people and the shitty system we have actually celebrates them and has laws designed to support the symptoms of their disease.
I think it’s far worse than that, sadly. Some people chase after something - daddy / peer approval? - that they will never have, and certainly cannot buy with money, yet they’ve inappropriately decided to triple down on attaining more money as their means to solve their other personal issues. And then control all of society trying to get people to look down on anyone who does otherwise.
Really they don’t even desire the money, like a zombie munching, yet unlike a living being’s hunger response from which it was originally born, it will never become sated, it’s just an endless intake with no purpose (anymore).
I mean it still means rich, rich and poor are vague terms that can have whole spectrum of meanings. But meme is still right.
Agree. There are these nice terms like house-poor or car-poor for people who buy things more expensive then they can afford, forcing them to make uncomfortable savings in other aspects of life.
If you know that your current lifestyle is sustainable until you die, and makes you happy, you are rich already in terms of money.
In the excellent book, Your Money or Your Life the authors define wealthy as, “having what you need plus a little more.”
That’s all most people want. Since inheriting enough from my parents a few years ago to retire, the relief I constantly feel from not worrying about money is a treasure beyond value. Through my whole career I always looked forward to retirement simply for the free time it would give me. But the major effect has been freedom from thinking about money. It’s like going from treading water to sitting in a lawn chair. I’ve always been a fan of things like universal healthcare and UBI, but this experience has solidified that. Everyone should have this level of peace and security, not just those of us who are lucky enough.
There are some people who want to be wealthy to the tune of flaunting it, making other people figuratively or literally bow down to them. Those people should not be allowed to have power.
If I was somehow a billionaire, I like to think I’d be spending my money on socially useful stuff. More libraries. More infrastructure. Housing. Can an ultra rich person essentially run public housing and transit, at least on a city-wide scale? Probably. but the kind of person who gets to be ultra rich is probably an asshole.
And there’s the problem. The things good-people would do with thier money to better society don’t have a good return. You don’t grow or even maintain your wealth so it runs out.
These diamond spoon assholes that hoard thier wealth like dragons are a product of their environment. Gotta be an asshole to make the line go up and never down.
Our society (and by that I mean every society, no matter where you’re living) highly rewards the dark triad of personality disorders. And it literally punishes you (financially mostly) for being kind, humble, empathetic or just decent. So, to be a billionaire, you will simply have to be a mean piece of human garbage. By definition.
We, as a species, are fucked. There is no way out of capitalism anymore and it only will get way worse. One reason I became anti-natalist long ago. Now boo me.
Financial freedom refers to the ability of an individual to live a life free from financial worries, constraints, or limitations. It is a state of being where an individual has enough money to cover all their needs and wants without being enslaved by debt or having to work just for survival.
I achieved this about 8 years again and I have actually happy times now. A walk feels great because I don’t stress when getting back to life. Everyone should have this and taxes should match this purpose for EVERYONE. But people will support only billionaires having this life.
