$$, The Root of All Evil?

[eddie101]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/galleon-billionaire-convicted-of-fraud-conspiracy/2011/05/11/AFCwP8pG_story.html?hpid=z1

This man was/is a Billionaire. Why? :bonk

[Midnight Lady]

Possibly old habits are hard to break? How did he become a billionaire and was it 100% legitimate?

I think sometimes very rich people begin to think that they are not answerable to the same rules and laws as everyone else.

[Pfeister]

That's probably the most misquoted line in history. I think very few people have actually heard the real thing.

It's supposed to be "...the love of money is at the root of all evil".

I don't mean to be a jerk to the OP. That's driven me crazy for years, though.

[mannish]

love is the root of all evil

[cram]

humans are or can be evil. how is it said, "Rosie doesn't blame the spoon"?

[A-Bone]

That's probably the most misquoted line in history. I think very people have actually heard the real thing.

It's supposed to be "...the love of money is at the root of all evil".

I don't mean to be a jerk to the OP. That's driven me crazy for years, though.

:agree

[travisvwright]

Err I thought it was "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Not necessarily all evil (take a revenge killing rarely is money involved).

[eddie101]

I don't mean to be a jerk to the OP.

You're not. No offense taken, and thank you for correcting me.

I also recall "Pride, seed of all evil" - is that a "Readers Digest verision" as well? Not being smart here, just asking. :)

[EricPeterson]

love (of money) is (at) the root of all evil

Fixed.




Greed knows no bounds, humans are self interested, it is our greatest flaw.

[harpinon]

If I can quote Mothers Finest...

"A millionaire lookin for another million dollars, a poor man lookin for one - chain store owner lookin for another store, a hungry man lookin for a bun"

The sum is not so much the issue.

[Blanket Jackson]

I think that Deep Purple said it best ..

"It's not the kill
It's the thrill of the chaaaaaaaaa-ase"

or in the eternal word of Bob Dylan ...

"Man is opposed to fair play
He wants it all, he wants it his way"

[bluesjuke]

"Think I'll buy me a Lear jet"

[Julia343]

Possibly old habits are hard to break? How did he become a billionaire and was it 100% legitimate?

I think sometimes very rich people begin to think that they are not answerable to the same rules and laws as everyone else.

Most of the time they're not because they can buy better attorneys.

A lot of talk gets done on the golf course with no one around to witness. Been going on for centuries. Well not necessarily on the golf course, but you get the picture.

But it's not money itself. It's the power that money can buy that makes money so appealing.

[Cream]

Woman are at the root of all evil.

Women = (time) x (money)
Time = Money
Women = (money) x (money)
Women = (money)^2
Money = Root(Evil) --> premise from OP
(Money)^2 = Evil
Women = Evil

It's really quite simple.

[Midnight Lady]

But it's not money itself. It's the power that money can buy that makes money so appealing.

Absolutely! Money is money. But when it can elevate someone's position (often only in their own eyes), then it becomes useful. When it is discovered that other people can be manipulated and managed and dominated because of this money, then the character of the person seems to go straight to hell.

IMHO YMMV

Of the wealthy people I have met, I like the ones who started with nothing. If you've never been poor, then you can never appreciate how most of the world lives. Having lived in difficulty or poverty gives you a lifelong perspective and understanding. Unlike Marie Antoinette.

[mannish]

when the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace

[venivici]

Err I thought it was "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Not necessarily all evil (take a revenge killing rarely is money involved).

You got it, this the correct statement.

[slimjw]

Absolutely! Money is money. But when it can elevate someone's position (often only in their own eyes), then it becomes useful. When it is discovered that other people can be manipulated and managed and dominated because of this money, then the character of the person seems to go straight to hell.

IMHO YMMV

Of the wealthy people I have met, I like the ones who started with nothing. If you've never been poor, then you can never appreciate how most of the world lives. Having lived in difficulty or poverty gives you a lifelong perspective and understanding. Unlike Marie Antoinette.

:agree

Agree on all counts, though a lot of wealthy folks I've met who came from nothing still "feel" like they did when they had nothing and act accordingly, which can get fairly obnoxious when settling a dinner bill or whatever...

IMO, learned patterns of greed, scarcity and entitlement are the real roots of most, if not all of humanity's problems.

[VegasGreg]

No.

Improper use of money may be. but that's about it.

[twinrider1]

Evil is evil for evil's sake. Money is just another tool.

[bluesjunior]

Most of the time they're not because they can buy better attorneys.

A lot of talk gets done on the golf course with no one around to witness. Been going on for centuries. Well not necessarily on the golf course, but you get the picture.

But it's not money itself. It's the power that money can buy that makes money so appealing.
To wit another saying, "Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely"

[Midnight Lady]

^^^ true.

And it's not actually the money that is evil, it is the hunger for it and the greed that is evil. When people will abandon their morals and overlook laws and step on other people in order to get it -- then it is greed that is the evil force and not the money itself.

[Altanon]

There are Capitalists, (Money Makers,) who 'make,' and there are Capitalists who 'take.'

Shut Wall Street down. Eliminate trading in Stocks and Commodities, and declare all such Financial Instruments to be null, void and worthless. Eliminate the concept of 'Incorporation.' Eliminate the Federal Reserve and tell them to go fuçk themselves for the so-called 'National Debt.' Outlaw Usury. Seize all assets of the Fetid 400. Institute a 'Living Wage,' and impose a 20:1 ratio between CEO Salaries and the Living Wage.

Lots more, but that would be a good start.

[Quantum Cat]

Shut Wall Street down. Eliminate trading in Stocks and Commodities, and declare all such Financial Instruments to be null, void and worthless. Eliminate the concept of 'Incorporation.' Eliminate the Federal Reserve and tell them to go fuçk themselves for the so-called 'National Debt.' Outlaw Usury. Seize all assets of the Fetid 400.Institute a 'Living Wage,' and impose a 20:1 ratio between CEO Salaries and the Living Wage.



But first we'll need a tyrant dictator to accomplish all this.

[studiodunn]

television is the TRUE root of all evil IMHO.

[Sandy Cheeks]

There are Capitalists, (Money Makers,) who 'make,' and there are Capitalists who 'take.'

Shut Wall Street down. Eliminate trading in Stocks and Commodities, and declare all such Financial Instruments to be null, void and worthless. Eliminate the concept of 'Incorporation.' Eliminate the Federal Reserve and tell them to go fuçk themselves for the so-called 'National Debt.' Outlaw Usury. Seize all assets of the Fetid 400. Institute a 'Living Wage,' and impose a 20:1 ratio between CEO Salaries and the Living Wage.

Lots more, but that would be a good start.

Get a mule and a shotgun. You'll need the gun because you'll hear others grumbling , "there's the rich guy with the mule".

[todd richman]

Greed is good...

[Sandy Cheeks]

Is it time for another Ayn Rand thread?

:munch

[cruisemates]

Shut Wall Street down. Eliminate trading in Stocks and Commodities, and declare all such Financial Instruments to be null, void and worthless. Eliminate the concept of 'Incorporation.' Eliminate the Federal Reserve and tell them to go fuçk themselves for the so-called 'National Debt.' Outlaw Usury. Seize all assets of the Fetid 400. Institute a 'Living Wage,' and impose a 20:1 ratio between CEO Salaries and the Living Wage.



This kind of thinking just makes me sad for the people who have never fully understood that the beauty of the capitalist system is its unique ability to create wealth. Many of them think there is a finite amount of money in the world, but that isn't true - wealth can be created.

Many people live day to day, barely paying their bills based on what they make on a regular wage. Where if you are entrepreneurial and take money and put it to work with a product (like MicroSoft or Google, or Ford) you can sell the product and eventually take the company "PUBLIC" so everyday people can share in your success by buying shares in your company.

The entrepreneur gets rewarded when people buy the majority of his company (in the Initial Public Offering) but he maintains an interest in the company with the shares of his own that will go either up or down based on how he handles the company.

That is Wall Street, and capitalism, and I don't see anything wrong with that system. I love being a capitalist.

The problem is when the market becomes "inefficient" and some people in Wall Street coverup the inefficiency to protect their own assets. Like the housing crisis and Mortgage Backed Securities.

But just because that was a fiasco, arguably induced by the government just as much as by Wall Street, you shouldn't throw out all the GOOD money Wall Street has made such as the 10s of 1000s of millionaires created by just Microsoft alone.

The next time the Nasdaq shoots up over 10,000 - I hope no one here is still sitting on the sidelines cursing the capitalists.

[travisvwright]

Absolutely! Money is money. But when it can elevate someone's position (often only in their own eyes), then it becomes useful. When it is discovered that other people can be manipulated and managed and dominated because of this money, then the character of the person seems to go straight to hell. I would change that last part to say simply that their true character comes out. I've known wealthy people aware of money's power that are wonderful people, and do wonderful things with it.

Kidna like drinking doesn't make you viloent it simply removes your inhibitions so if you are a violent person that starts to show.

[cruisemates]

Greed is good...

Funny - that line is from the movie "Wall Street" which is supposed to portray the greed of "capitalists" on Wall Street. But in fact the lead character was a person who bought public companies and took them OFF the market - divesting all of their assets. So, he was not a Wall Street capitalist - he was a private opportunist who took advantage of the free and open market.

It was a good movie - but it would be wrong to believe that such practices are common - they aren't. That was a trend back in the 80s when the movie was made, but for every story like that, there are a 1000 companies that have gone public and shared the wealth with their workers and people who buy their shares.

The protagonist in that movie was a bad guy - as he was rightly portrayed. But to say that movie represents "Wall Street" is about as accurate as saying everyone in "Chicago" wears top hats and dances like Fosse, or that everyone if Philadelphia is a lawyer with AIDs who gets fired.

[phoenix 7]

"Greed" is NOT good. Greed almost wrecked our economy a few years ago. Greed f***ing sucks.

[Quantum Cat]

Greed is good. I want a well built car at a cheap price. I'm greedy.

The steel maker, plastics, rubber and oil industries, the trucker and the car lot all want money. They're greedy. None of us know each other but at the end of the day, I get my car and they get their money because of our mutual greed.

[Sandy Cheeks]

Hmmm, among the definitions of greed (http://onelook.com/?w=greed&ls=a), I see:

reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)

I don't think that's Ayn Rand's working definition, though.

[jay42]

hmm...Marie Antoinette was forced to make vows she didn't understand at the age of fifteen. It's not like the aristocracy was ever supposed to be smart or well experienced in the world. I would guess that she never really saw it coming, or could comprehend why, when she was led to the guillotine.

Anyway, I believe I can add one thing that we all understand, but isn't explicitly stated ever:

Human beings have a strong inclination to hoard. This is what powerful and influential economists since Milton Friedman have failed to recognize.

re: the OP statement, I think the wording depends on the [DANGER ALERT!!!] Bible translation you're quoting.

[phoenix 7]

Greed is good. I want a well built car at a cheap price. I'm greedy.

The steel maker, plastics, rubber and oil industries, the trucker and the car lot all want money. They're greedy. None of us know each other but at the end of the day, I get my car and they get their money because of our mutual greed.

All of that behavior sounds fine and reasonable to me -- none of it fits the standard definition of "greed."

As Sandy Cheeks posted:

Hmmm, among the definitions of greed (http://onelook.com/?w=greed&ls=a), I see:

reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)