Are you rich? What does it mean to be rich?

[hobbyguy]

Wealth and money don't equate to richness of life.

Travelling in a very poor country, Nepal, I observed that the folks in very remote villages smiled a lot. No electricity, no roads (so no cars). But their kids were being taught english, and they seemed to aspire to have roads, and cars, and tv's etc. Walk around Kelowna, and the majority are not smiling - but we have the roads, cars, TV's etc.

Chasing the baubles doesn't equate to richness of life, but it sure is attractive to a lot of folks. What did the smiling villagers have that we don't have? A community where they were cared about and accepted for who they were? That's my take on it.

What good is your own island and a yacht to get there if no one loves you or cares about you? Well, it's probably better than having to worry about where your next meal is coming from. But once you get beyond the "needs" level (food, shelter, security) then I think things like community, family, and friends are much more important in making you rich.

Ever notice how marketers love to tell you that you "need" something? The Shopping Channel is great for telling you that you "need" to have things. Watch it some time and they'll tell you that you "need" this fancy computerized sewing machine, or "need" this commercial grade juicer, or some other thing.

So the marketers do a very good job of blurring what "needs" are.

They also do a very good job of telling us what "successful" is. Is being successful having a BMW and a Cadillac in the driveway, or is it raising a couple of wonderful kids and enjoying family dinners?

[JayByrd]

I think a lot of the things we associate with wealth are deceiving. We see people in million dollar homes, driving expensive cars, taking expensive vacations, etc. I think a lot of them are struggling just as much as your average person though...the numbers are just bigger, coming in and going out.

I have a comfortable home I can afford, my family is close by and relatively healthy. I'm not wealthy in the financial sense, but I think I'm better off than many. At the risk of derailing the topic, I've recently come to realize that being born white and North American gives you a leg up on most of the world...

[Captain Awesome]

I think a lot of the things we associate with wealth are deceiving. We see people in million dollar homes, driving expensive cars, taking expensive vacations, etc. I think a lot of them are struggling just as much as your average person though...

Why would a lot of them be struggling?

[SurplusElect]

Why would a lot of them be struggling?

Because they have bought into the notion that material objects define who they are and certain feelings can only be obtained through materialism. We are taught from a very early age that we suck and nobody will love us unless we buy things. The people buying "luxury goods" have sunk their souls into that concept.

They are the carrot dangling in front of the capitalist horse. The top of the food chain. Why we all get out of bed. What all commercials and advertizements aspire us to be.

So much so that most people on the forums cite jealousy as a root of not embracing massive wealth. It's unbelievable to some.

Brainwashed victims of the economy.

[Takin it easy !]

I'll be rich as soon as I figure out the way to monetize sarcasm.

Some are poor in the sense that they are not even close to being bright enough to be remotely entertaining with their idea of sarcasm !

[Captain Awesome]

Because they have bought into the notion that material objects define who they are and certain feelings can only be obtained through materialism. We are taught from a very early age that we suck and nobody will love us unless we buy things. The people buying "luxury goods" have sunk their souls into that concept.

You don't have to be wealthy to fall for this mentality to be honest. It certainly is unwise, but if you have a million or two in net worth, a nice vehicle is a drop in a bucket, really. It's still just gets you from point A to point B though. My car right now doubles in value when I fill up, but I see nothing wrong with driving a nice vehicle once my family is financially independent. Not because I'd like to define myself through materialism or nobody loved me when I was growing - I just don't want something that leaks oil and makes farting sounds in my driveway.

[SurplusElect]

You don't have to be wealthy to fall for this mentality to be honest.

Agreed.

Currently you have the entire lower-end economy geared to be chasing the fractional higher end economy (even though they will never get there) and the only way they can taste a piece is by trying to feel those emotions dangled infront of everyone's faces by people trying to sell things.

The poor try to buy the nice things, to chase that false happiness.

Whole economy is geared that way. Job's mean "people spending" - on what?

If there is no war to stimulate growth the economy relies on "warfare against peoples self esteem" for profit. After WWII look at what happened. Coca Cola, luxury life chasing and shopping malls.

[logicalview]

Wealth and money don't equate to richness of life.

Travelling in a very poor country, Nepal, I observed that the folks in very remote villages smiled a lot. No electricity, no roads (so no cars). But their kids were being taught english, and they seemed to aspire to have roads, and cars, and tv's etc. Walk around Kelowna, and the majority are not smiling - but we have the roads, cars, TV's etc.

Chasing the baubles doesn't equate to richness of life, but it sure is attractive to a lot of folks. What did the smiling villagers have that we don't have? A community where they were cared about and accepted for who they were? That's my take on it.

What good is your own island and a yacht to get there if no one loves you or cares about you? Well, it's probably better than having to worry about where your next meal is coming from. But once you get beyond the "needs" level (food, shelter, security) then I think things like community, family, and friends are much more important in making you rich.

Ever notice how marketers love to tell you that you "need" something? The Shopping Channel is great for telling you that you "need" to have things. Watch it some time and they'll tell you that you "need" this fancy computerized sewing machine, or "need" this commercial grade juicer, or some other thing.

So the marketers do a very good job of blurring what "needs" are.

They also do a very good job of telling us what "successful" is. Is being successful having a BMW and a Cadillac in the driveway, or is it raising a couple of wonderful kids and enjoying family dinners?

Great post. You nailed it.

Back to topic- when I think about happiness I think about "Fiddler on the Roof". When Tevye's daughter marries the man she loves, a poor tailor, instead of a rich old man she doesn't love, Tevye's says "they are so happy they don't know how miserable they are". I think that sums up a lot of people in third world countries. They are surrounded by people who love them. That's why they are smiling. We could learn a few things from that, I think.

[Thinktank]

I think that sums up a lot of people in third world countries. They are surrounded by people who love them. That's why they are smiling. We could learn a few things from that, I think.

Not really. Third world people might be smiling, but their life is way worse than ours, and ours is pretty bad.
I don't think we can learn anything from third worlders, but we can teach them something - A LESSON - when
we rip off their resources, and make them even more poor tan they are now.

[logicalview]

Not really. Third world people might be smiling, but their life is way worse than ours, and ours is pretty bad.
I don't think we can learn anything from third worlders, but we can teach them something - A LESSON - when
we rip off their resources, and make them even more poor tan they are now.

Way to miss, by about a million miles, the entire point. I don't know who "we" are, but I personally have never ever ripped off someone's resources in the third world. You sound to me to be a typical college kid whose brain has been polluted by some swarmy entitled professors. You'd learn a lot more about this world by traveling through it rather than sitting in worthless taxpayer subsidized classes taught by pinheads.

[Thinktank]

Hobbyguy said some people in Nepal were smiling and I believe him.

But here's what the 'FREE THE SLAVES website says about Nepal:
Tens of thousands are in slavery in Nepal today. They are trafficked into domestic slavery at home and abroad;

Whenever I am in Wenatchee, I see slaves too,but slightly different slaves. The slaves i see in Wenatchee
are the ones out in the orchards, climbing ladders pruning fruit trees. In the summer the slaves will be working
with pesticides, which isn't anything to smile about. And they're not smiling. Just look at any Mexican farmworker
who goes to a restaurant on Sunday with his family - and tell me if he's smiling. He's not. It's impossible to smile
when you're broke and earn a low wage. And he's the lucky one - he got out of Mexico. In Mexico he would earn a lot less. And Mexico is a hundred times richer than Nepal.

I'm actually amazed how the richest 1% in the rich countries can get away doing the things they do, while the poorest
people in the third world suffer to the extent they do. It never ceases to amaze me.

[logicalview]

Hobbyguy said some people in Nepal were smiling and I believe him.

But here's what the 'FREE THE SLAVES website says about Nepal:
Tens of thousands are in slavery in Nepal today. They are trafficked into domestic slavery at home and abroad;

Whenever I am in Wenatchee, I see slaves too,but slightly different slaves. The slaves i see in Wenatchee
are the ones out in the orchards, climbing ladders pruning fruit trees. In the summer the slaves will be working
with pesticides, which isn't anything to smile about. And they're not smiling. Just look at any Mexican farmworker
who goes to a restaurant on Sunday with his family - and tell me if he's smiling. He's not. It's impossible to smile
when you're broke and earn a low wage. And he's the lucky one - he got out of Mexico. In Mexico he would earn a lot less. And Mexico is a hundred times richer than Nepal.

I'm actually amazed how the richest 1% in the rich countries can get away doing the things they do, while the poorest
people in the third world suffer to the extent they do. It never ceases to amaze me.

Please don't turn what was actually a great discussion into more of this 1% slave nonsense. It's just ridiculous. You are equating money with happiness and that goes against what a lot of posters much smarter than you just explained is not even remotely true. Being with and surrounded by loved ones is a kind of happiness money can't buy.

[Graham Adder]

Is being successful having a BMW and a Cadillac in the driveway, or is it raising a couple of wonderful kids and enjoying family dinners?

Success should not be measured by your own accomplishments, but rather what you inspire others to accomplish.

[Graham Adder]

I've recently come to realize that being born white and North American gives you a leg up on most of the world...

Being born white gives you a leg up anywhere in the world.

[Graham Adder]

Being with and surrounded by loved ones is a kind of happiness money can't buy.

very true
very

wish I could buy me some loved ones