If this column's headline made you ask: "Why do the rich folks need my money; they already have millions?," then you don't understand the situation and that makes you vulnerable (due to lack of vigilance) and that, in turn, puts you squarely in their economic "cross hairs."
If the reader is enjoying good health, does that mean you don't need more for this afternoon, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year . . . etc.?
In a moment of candor, a wealthy fellow, who was the supervisor at a place where this columnist worked back in the very beginning of the B. C. (Bush Clan) era, taught this columnist that money is like sex and drugs because "you can never have enough." Sherman (he resembled a certain cartoon character) also mentioned, in front of a coworker (we'll call him J. C.), who was living from paycheck to paycheck, that the most money his grandma could give him tax-free each year was $10,000.
There were times when, if the aforementioned coworker in dire economic straits was nearby, "our boss" would pull out a stash of his uncashed paychecks and ask "Bob, how long do we have to cash these before they become invalid?" I'd answer six weeks and then he'd count them and exclaim: "I better go to the bank and deposit them right now!" The fellow who needed every cent would then ask the boss why Sherman wouldn't sign one and give it to a fellow (J. C.) who needed the money and would get it to fulfill its potential.
Sherman would concede that initially that might sound like a compassionate thing to do, but that ultimately it would remove J. C.'s motivation to work hard, succeed, and improve his own lot in life.
J. C. got a credit card and Sherman noted that the ensuing months would provide a front row seat for the economic equivalent of the spectacle that Romans got when they watched unarmed Christians battle a lion. A few years later when J. C. filed for bankruptcy, Sherman shed some very realistic crocodile tears.
Sherman used his grandma's annual retirement fund contributions to retire before his fortieth birthday. J. C. became an example for use in the arguments favoring universal health care.
Somewhere (Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, actually) in the last year and half, we picked up a bargain bin paperback that related the history of the South Pacific area. According to this intriguing book (lost it so we can't cite the academic details such as author and page number), the island natives had to be taught to covet material possessions so that they could then be induced to sign on as wage slaves for the various companies seeking to export the local treasures.
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