BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 22 Jul 18 - 02:44 AM

I entirely see your point DMcG.

One could say he was lucky to have enjoyed robust health all his life; to have married a woman who supported him in his ambitions and encouraged him, who knew how to economise and oversee a well-run household; to have been born with brains; to have lived in the new technological age, where opportunities abounded just after the War; to have been white; (I'm not being racist, but Britain was in those days!)
and so on.

But I do think his struggles and determination merit some recognition. He wasn't born to wealthy parents, and could have spent every evening down the pub (he never did that) He wore the same old overcoat for years so that we girls could have the school uniform, and tired though he was after work, he continued to study. It must have been hard, and His good character saw him through.

Rich people also may have struggled to rise in the business world. They may have started from humble beginnings, have had excellent business acumen and management skills and used them to good effect.

I'm not considering how they became rich, but what they're doing with their wealth once acquired.
They often seem blinkered to the rest of the world, and like Trump feel little compassion for the 'Strugglers'.

There ARE philanthropists of course, but anyone who is interested in spending £20,000 on some headphones rather than, say, endow a malaria clinic in W Africa is in my view delusional.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: DMcG
Date: 22 Jul 18 - 02:26 AM

My own father worked hard to gain telecommunications qualifications when such technology was in its early days, and climbed his way up the salary scale. He eventually bought a pleasant house in London, then sold it at a huge profit to buy a bungalow in Norfolk for his retirement. If people ever said to him how 'lucky' he was, he would bite off their noses. In his view, he'd earned every penny of what he possessed, and 'luck' didn't come into it. Which was fair comment.

I agree with all that, Sen. I have no doubt of the hard work, and that the benefits from it were earned.

But there is still far more luck in it than it first seems. Take, for example, how the how prices between London and Norfolk changed. That was luck. And take the choice to study telecoms rather than other equally attractive subjects around at the time that turned out to be dead ends. For example, when I was still at school I visited the local Technical College (now a University). They had different courses for people studying digital computers and analogue computers. And, at the time, it was not clear that one would become massively dominant and the other virtually disappear. Those who were 'lucky' chose one course and those who were 'unlucky' chose the other.

Luck - or as I would prefer to say, chance - plays a huge part in all our lives, whether we are successful or not.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: ollaimh
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 10:31 PM

the whole of american mainstream culture is about money and war, as is english. yes they are totally delsuional. they are impervious to the idea that they ever did a wrong thing, =or they find others flaws and then two hundred wrongs make a right.

laissez faire caoitalism, which is really military capitalism, rose with the shittish empire to commit more atrocities than nazis, but the usa is catching up fast. the present refugee crisis on the american southern border is the direct result of american backed, trained armed anf unded coups and insurections, to try and take native land for american companies or their local alies. this has resulted in the deaths of hundred of thousands since the reagan years.   the guatemalean regime of rios monte alone murdered about a quarter million mayan natives with full funding, training backing and support of the reagan adminstration and the greed driven religious right ssuch as falwell, pat robertson.

most american seem totally unaware that the greed of their coprorations has caused this.

the obama adminstration over threw the elected government of haiti twice and rigged the elections in hiondouras and continues to suport the murder squads who murder natives who try and keep their land.

yeah greed greed greed andd war war war is what america and england have been about since laissez faire capitalism

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 01:46 PM

And pure profit-seeking by very large business entities, profit-seeking which is devoid of any concern for the welfare of the common people, society in general, and the health of the planet...that kind of delusion (along with the wars it inevitably leads to) is presently the greatest threat to our collective future on this planet.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 01:24 PM

So...no, money does not necessarily cause delusional thinking, but delusional thinking does tend to misuse and abuse money (and many other things).

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 11:21 AM

Agreed, Steve. The problem is not the money itself, because it's a very useful way of enabling the exchange of goods and services. The problem is how the privately owned banks have taken over most of the creation OF the money...in the form of debt...through fractional reserve lending...thereby enriching themselves at the expense of the rest of society, and by this means they have gradually gained control over governments and societies in the last few centuries by putting them into enormous debt TO the banks and thus controlling them. So, as you say, it isn't the money itself that's the problem, but like other good things (including your bottle of wine) it's open to abuse. The system of fractional reserve lending should never have been allowed to develop in the way it has. This was not the fault of money itself. It was an error originally made by governments in regards to how to regulate the banks, and it is by now completely out of control. The largest corporations are likewise taking control of societies, again due to various forms of de-regulation that have allowed them to....and this was accomplished by they and the banks buying off the politicians. Not the fault of money itself, but the fault of corruption in high places.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 09:20 AM

" "Here lives a complete sucker!"
You disappoint me if you believe giving to charity is being a sucker
People who beg do so usually because they need to
The problem is not the begging but why it is needed

My interest in Irish social history has opened up a whole new world on this subject
Begging became a widespread necessity during and after the famine and many groupds took advantage of that fact
Protestant missionaries set up soup schools where pupils were given food if they persuaded their parents to attend Catholic Mass - they are still remembered as 'soupers'
On the other hand, Quakers stepped in and set up food distribution centres and supervised the workhouses the British Government had abandoned our of Cristian duty

The infamous Magdalene were set up to help 'fallen women', but where used both to promote religion and to provide slave labour.

The reason for charities may not have been of the best, but the idea of giving took root in the minds of the Irish people
Jim

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 08:40 AM

Little Hawk, if I can take my fiver to Sainsbury's and buy a bottle of wine that I can enjoy at home, that five pound note undeniably had value. There's nothing inherently evil or undesirable about money per se. It's a convenient way of facilitating the exchanging of goods and services without always having to barter or provide like-for-like. Money requires everyone to have faith in it. Generally, it works that way very well. Like other Good Things (including my bottle of wine) it's open to abuse. But that's people, not money.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 05:50 AM

Ah yes Jim. Our Irish mum was the kindest, most giving person ever.
She always looked forward to the arrival of the traditional Romany travellers early each Spring (They had horse-drawn, painted vans, very interesting and attractive) and saved clothing, knitted items and suchlike, plus tins of food, to give to the lady at the door.

We hadn't much money in those days, but she shared what she had.
My father used to laugh, because every time, the lady would draw some sort of secret chalk sign on our gatepost upon leaving. My mother reckoned it was a 'blessing', but my dad said it meant, "Here lives a complete sucker!"

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 05:36 AM

Glad to hear it Sen
Ireland is the most charitable place I've ever encountered
Jim

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 05:36 AM

Glad to hear it Sen
Ireland is the most charitable place I've ever encountered
Jim

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 04:12 AM

Jim, I tend to agree that 'charity' may not be as effective as some people think. It does encourage dependence, and is a 'sop to Cerberus' in salving one's conscience.

That's why my sister and I select charities which enable people to become self-sufficient.

She's brilliant at finding schemes which set up small, viable businesses for women in developing countries. And those organisations which endeavour to eliminate FGM by education schemes that present a 'coming-of-age ceremony' as a better way to mark a young girl's entry into womanhood.

We contribute to some medical,sanitation and hygiene charities (she's a retired doctor and has an interest in this) which educate people about disease and its prevention.

We also support personally my large family of in-laws. Several of them (male and female) have been provided with the means to earn a living, and are now bringing in a wage from their own efforts (a tailoring shop with sewing machine, a hair-braiding salon, to give two examples)

I only write this in order to explain that we are well aware of the pitfalls in 'giving' and that none of it addresses the evil causes of poverty.
But we do what we can.

On the subject of materialism, I think that most very rich people do buy ridiculously expensive and luxurious items, such as several fancy cars, jewellery, £1000 handbags and other designer trash, and even private jets and/or yachts. I've said on here before how we visited Harrrods in London for a laugh, and saw some headphones encrusted with diamonds costing £20,000. Now that IS materialism.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 21 Jul 18 - 03:07 AM

THe term "equality" has been a deliberately created red-herring since this society was first challenged
"Equality" is a desirable Utopia- a dream, nothing more
Another favourite red herring of the defenders of this society is "jealousy of the wealthy"

Most people may dream of being rich, but in fact all working people want is enough to live on - even just remuneration for their skills and efforts is hardly an issue nowaays
The longest and most divisive dispute in my lifetime, The Miners' Strike, wasn't about miners getting richer - it was about them keeping their jobs, homes and way of life.

Thatcher's Government, with the help of an American advisor, devised a plan to smash the Trades Unions, thereby silencing any say working people had in their lives.
The failure of that strike, coupled with the act of turning homes into commodities, marked the beginning of a repid widening of the gap between those who have too much and those who have next to nothing
That gap has now reached crisis point, with the health and education of our people in the firing line
I never thought I'd hear anybody claim that people are now "living too long" - it's fairly common to read about longevity as being a problem rather than a blessing
The real incurable sickness to day is the system

Sen
I admire your attitude to charity (I am a regular donor myself, but I look on my donations to Cancer organisations as personal insurance rather than gifts
When push comes to shove, any society that has to rely on charity is a failed one
Charity stigmatises and degrades; it may act as a sedative to a few, but in the main it does far more good to the donor than the donated-to
It is used as an excuse for not righting wrongs by those who are in the position to change things
At best, it is a stop-gap while we're waiting for a relief column that will never arrive because "there's always charity"
If it did anything serious to help those in need it would be accused of being "a disincentive for people to help themselves" and would be owtlawed
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 10:56 PM

Next I can elaborate on the lyrics of some of Bob Dylan's best songs. I KNOW you'll love that! :D

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 09:58 PM

Well, it works this way. First, everyone pretends to believe that our money is real and has real value. And they end up not just pretending...they actually believe it! They agree on that belief together. Then they all use it to buy and sell things. Quite simple, really. It just requires virtually everyone's agreement and participation in the original assumption to be workable and to have power over people's lives, kind of like the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period or an absolute monarchy. It's a sort of formal religion (though without a deity..in the usual sense...or an afterlife), and the bankers are the high priests of that religion and creators of its "god" or "idol" to worship (the money), which works out very well for them. The government gets to make a *little* of that "god" or that idol too, in the form of some coins and paper currency that go into circulation, but that's just a tiny part of all the money that's in play. Most of it exists in the form of electronic records on balance sheets. And you knew that already. :) But you did ask for elaboration!

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 07:17 PM

Do elaborate.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 07:13 PM

Money *itself* is delusional in our social system, since the banks simply create most of it out of thin air and then charge society a big burden of interest on top of that.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 06:58 PM

"It is not totally unfair. Some are rich because they work harder than others, and don't squander their money, but invest it to make their position better.
Others don't work (either because they can't, or because they won't) and expect equality with those who do work."

This is classic Tory Party twaddle. The richest man in the world doesn't work any harder than the girl who works nights in an old people's home, cleaning up sick and urine, changing soiled bedsheets and giving bedbaths to people with advanced dementia. He may be better educated, have been shown the tricks of the trade in a public school, have been given lifts up in life and learned how to play the system, but he does not work harder than that girl. Not in a million years. And, it could be argued, he contributes less to society than she does. A lot less. As for squandering money, she'd tell you that chance would be a fine thing. There's always the pound shop and the food bank...

As for people expecting equality, etc., well I've known very many people on low pay or who couldn't get work, not through their own fault, but because there were no jobs or because they are disabled. I haven't met a single one who "expects equality," A few months in the real world would do people like you a power of good, Niggles.
.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Joe_F
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 05:45 PM

I think it's wrong to call the wish for vast sums of money materialism. Only poor people want money for what it will buy. People want fortunes because the mere possession of a fortune gets one attention and power, within one's family and elsewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 11:51 AM

I am impressed by the writing of Jim Carrol regarding the great human waste of talent. Unrecognized talent and ability happens due to a collective ignorance based on a societal idea of what is normal.

What is normal is what is normal to that individual. This is where delusions can grow in fertile soil for society on one hand and the individual on the other.

As for money we seem to have a sliding scale of ethics regarding getting money, in fact ethics becomes a flexible spandex that fits big and small.
Small amounts of of money like lost coins are exempt. then there is a middle ground of an amount of money that must be ethically accounted for. Finally a vast sum of wealth beyond comprehension is again untethered from ethics in my opinion. A trilion and a half givaway to corporations could be an example.

I know a person who personally knows Soros and it seemed to my friend that George is of average intelligence and an above average sense of propriety.

Trump has no sense except to lie and bully. However he is a quick study, he recently learned that Lincoln was a Republican

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 09:21 AM

I agree that many people have arrived at a position of wealth through their own efforts/talents/business acumen etc.
My own father worked hard to gain telecommunications qualifications when such technology was in its early days, and climbed his way up the salary scale. He eventually bought a pleasant house in London, then sold it at a huge profit to buy a bungalow in Norfolk for his retirement. If people ever said to him how 'lucky' he was, he would bite off their noses. In his view, he'd earned every penny of what he possessed, and 'luck' didn't come into it. Which was fair comment.

My concerns are:-

1) Do people actually NEED vast sums of money, in excess of their reasonable daily requirements? Is materialism a sort of addiction?

2) Do they see/know of/care about the terrible deprivation others suffer, both in UK and around the world?

3) If they do, what exactly are their strategies for giving generous, charitable aid and support?

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 09:15 AM

"Unfortunately, Jim that will always be the case."
It won't actually Nigel - if it continues to be Government policy it will destroy the system that fosters it and replace it with something else
Whether that 'something else' is better or worse remains to be seen

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"."
If that "ability" is squaneded by lengthening dole queues and skilled and highly trained workers being forced to take any job on offer, from stacking shelves in Sainsburys to sweeping the streets then the second half is a meaningless achievable aim anyway
The system we live under is based on wasting the potential of the mass of humanity in the interests of profit

Every society and every class has people who are greedy by nature - once you formalise that greed into a system, it is the most greedy and ambitious (and already privileged by birth) who rise to the top
The 'From Log Cabin to White House' ethos has long been put out of reach of U.S. citizens
Here we have the exclusion of young people from working families from higher education because of school fees which has totally removed it from our lives.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 08:18 AM

Unfortunately, Jim that will always be the case.
It is not totally unfair. Some are rich because they work harder than others, and don't squander their money, but invest it to make their position better.
Others don't work (either because they can't, or because they won't) and expect equality with those who do work.
Too many people ignore the first half of the Marxist maxim: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 04:17 AM

We live in a society that is wealthy enough for everybody to have sufficient to be comfortable
Many live below the breadline and the rich minority have more than they could possibly spend in ten lifetimes
This increasingly the case IN THE UK
Taken on a world-wide scale this increases to an OBSCENE LEVEL
The outcome of this is widespread starvation and death, wars and international log term insecurity
A society based on greed is a society that has failed and has no future
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: BobL
Date: 20 Jul 18 - 02:59 AM

Iains, if you're worried try "health, wealth and happiness, not necessarily in that order."

Money can't buy happiness, but at least it allows you to be miserable in comfort.

Harries's Sod's Law:
For happiness you need health, wealth and spare time.
In youth you have health and spare time.
In middle age you have health and wealth.
In retirement you have wealth and spare time.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 11:39 PM

The Chinese New Years greeting translates to "Health and prosperity in the coming year."

For an analysis of the Libertarian philosophy and how it became Dogma, I recommend "America in Chains" by MacLean, Penguin Books.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Joe_F
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 05:56 PM

Certainly, there are some people who are so rich they think they must be smart. Donald Trump & George Soros come to mind.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 04:09 PM

Raggytash, I laughed at your post then felt guilty. It reminded me of what my dad said. Whether you're rich or poor its good to have money.

The rich say the poor on the dole are lazy The poor say money makes the rich lazy

We get by on one income which is hard today. I'm lazy.

Acme the hidden brain takes a psychological POV on the creation of various models of God. Similarly I joined 3 different ancient religions for an experiential education and culturally lived in a Judeo Christian America. Far from a formal religious education my POV of a very simple man made very simple contrasts and comparisons. I won't bore others with what I learned.

As an adult I saw in general the irrational and delusional side compared to the rational side of my species was a shocking near balance irregardless of education. awkward but I go for now

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Iains
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 04:05 PM

What is the correct order when wishing someone health, wealth and happiness?

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Raggytash
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 02:02 PM

As someone who has suffered from several severe bouts of depression I can say that I would rather be rich and depressed than poor and depressed.

Sadly I've never really been the former!

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 12:22 PM

Like Mr Red, I too was brought up by (necessarily) frugal parents just after the War. Any waste was looked on as completely wicked.

Christmas was a very simple affair, with one present each and a few treats such as a half-a-crown 'selection box' of chocolate bars or a hair-slide.
We weren't hungry or even 'poor', but in just the same boat as all our neighbours, in having little to spare.

I find myself trying not to judge millionaires who drive vastly expensive cars or wear extremely valuable jewellery. Or those who gamble away thousands. But it's hard to be charitable about them when others are actually suffering and could be helped.

And do all those material possessions make them very happy?
Does it guarantee they'll have perfect health?
Or that their spouses won't cheat on them?
Or their children will toe the line and not go astray?

It's delusional if they think money protects them from all that.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 11:22 AM

Apart from the obvious differences of location (he's a Brit, I'm a Canadian), my upbringing had much in common with that described by Will Fly. I don't scrimp and save much any more because, thank the Lord, I now enjoy a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, but I feel something akin to pain when I see food wasted, useful things spoiled by lack of simple maintenance, and people mindlessly blowing money on stupid stuff. How do I define "stupid" with respect to stuff? Stuff that is neither beautiful nor useful, and is produced in order to cause some form of distress -- for example, Truck Nutz ... Need I say more?

In quoting the Epistle of Timothy, Eliza-Senoufou raises the central point, in my opinion; that those who pursue wealth for its own sake lose the ability to tell right from wrong. How does that happen? I think it happens because such people believe money can buy anything, including exemption from considering the needs and wants of others.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 10:57 AM

Somebody thinks this kind of waste is a good idea:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44885983

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 09:23 AM

The Hidden Brain program didn't focus just on Trump, but the connections are obvious and impossible to ignore, Don.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Jos
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 08:43 AM

The way I play Monopoly has vey little to do with the way I behave in real life. I wouldn't rely too much on such research.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: vectis
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 05:31 AM

There was a lot of research done 5 or so years ago on the effects of having a monetary advantage over others.

I think they used the game Monopoly but some started with more money than others. They found that having more changed the way people played the game. Greed for more, a decrease in empathy and feelings of superiority among others.

It was then extrapolated that those who had a monetary advantage over others would exhibit those same attitudes and behaviours. I am sure that there is plenty of info out there if you look for it.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 03:50 AM

The Bible (I Timothy 6-10) says 'The love of money is the root of all evil' and that those who pursue it 'pierce themselves with many sorrows'.
I think that the delusional thinking is there in the first place in some people, and the money merely fuels it. It can be a sort of addiction and obsession.

I agree entirely with Joe about power-seekers. Their pursuit of money is part of their 'syndrome'.

Money gives choices though, as Mr Red says, and removes constraints. It can buy 'pleasure' but some philosophies see a difference between 'pleasure' and 'happiness'. There is Hedonism and there is Eudaemonics.

I've always held to a firm conviction that one's money is there to be shared as much as possible. We're only stewards of what we have, and one day it will all be taken from us ('no pockets in a shroud' and all that). I've seen extreme deprivation and appalling poverty. Anything I can do (in my small way) to alleviate it a little is, to me, far better than buying luxury goods or splurging on material gewgaws!

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Mr Red
Date: 19 Jul 18 - 03:31 AM

money can make you lazy, that's fer sure. The effort of scrimping and saving is mentally taxing and years of it has given me a buffer (unless the gods dish out fates). So why not enjoy the lack of constraint?

Does that delude me? How would I know?

I was brought up by a mother who knew the privations of depression & WW2 & brought up by poor parents. And it instilled in me a pecuniary nature. But more recently I find I get more pleasure from not buying the cheapest bread etc. Though still go for on offer, close to sellby's every time. As long as it is something I would normally buy. That is a pleasure in some small way!

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Jul 18 - 11:20 PM

For a change I don't want go in the obvious Trump direction. I want to focus on 'good poor people' and good not so poor people who may have fallen in money traps in the past.
Now for my cookie, I will check out Hidden brain. its sounds like stuff I like.

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jul 18 - 11:14 PM

There definitely are some personality types for whom money is a primary or major motivator; but I think that money as a universal motivator, is highly overrated. Most people do think for other reasons, with money being one of several secondary factors.

I think that a lot of people think that other people are "doing it for the money" (although they wouldn't do it for the money themselves), but I think their perception is shallow.

Does Trump do it for the money? Partly, I think - but for him, money is a metaphor for power, and power is his primary motivator. And power gives his needy ego the self-esteem he craves.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jul 18 - 11:03 PM

Go look up the last few weeks of the podcast program Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam. He talked about that recently, and it leads directly to how come Trump has no empathy for anyone but himself.

Subject: BS: Does money cause delusional thinking?
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Jul 18 - 10:58 PM

"We're not just doing this job for the money, we're doing it for a SHITLOAD of money"
Starbuck in 'Spaceballs'

This joke demonstrates how easily ethics are abandoned when enormous sums of money are involved. I'm not suggesting we would do something criminal just for money, although people do every day, I'm saying a special kind of delusional thinking overtakes many people in the face of untold riches. Gold fever and inside trading are a couple of examples. Since this is a community of musicians and artists this is not going to be a big problem here. :^/

You might think this would be a good addiction to have as an all consuming raison d'etre but its not imo.
Data shows that suicides are predominant in the most successful wealthy countries compared to poor countries.

Arguments have rarely changed any minds here BUT I bet money has changed many minds.

jus tinking out loud