Will money buy YOU happiness?

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg
If you look at the two extremes of being in abject poverty and wealthy, you will find that wealthier people are happier. When you have to skip meals because you can't afford to spend money on food, when you have to skip taking your sick child to the doctor because you can't afford it, when you don't know if you'll be sleeping on the streets one night or a bed the other, your worries are much greater in scale than, "do my friends like me only for my money?"

How do you become content with your life if you're restricted by monetary means? You ask why we don't just do whatever we want and yet that's the easiest question to answer. It generally stems back to money. We can't do whatever we want because people have to weigh the risks of differing levels of happiness. Most will have to settle for doing something they may not particularly enjoy because you can't live on your dreams as much as Hollywood has told us that we can. Dreams don't feed, clothe, or shelter you. At most they feed the soul.

Regarding your last point. You can definitely help people around you with an average income but with pure financial security, you can not only focus more on helping but you also have more means to affect a larger amount of people. That may not be what makes you happy in life but it leaves open that option.

You assume that you can help other people because they are in need of money.

I assume that I can help others because with money I can fund my own research programs. With my own money, I can live in third world countries and actually perform real philanthropy. I don't assume that by having money I am just going to give it away and make everyone rich. You make the world a better place by minmizing the hazards of life for others. That is the essence of the Gates foundation. Improving the well-being of mankind by distributing personal wealth in a fashion that benefits many people and not just one.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Judging? And you throw around the term "left-winger?" You just getting sillier and sillier by the minute. I don't know where I said anything about grays, in fact, I think I was espousing the differences between cultures and societies whereas you were lumping them all together in a capitalist-America-centric way.

What you're basically doing is humbling my viewpoint on what happiness, although my viewpoint is the correct viewpoint.

My opinion is not a "American" or "capitalist" viewpoint. It's a "freedom" viewpoint. And freedom is the universal happiness.

Intellectual freedom. Freedom to buy anything you want. Freedom to go anywhere. Freedom to help large amounts of people. But you BLUR all of those "universal happinesses" and force primitive happiness from other cultures to be equal with it. That is called "graying" things. Getting ride obvious absolutes out of blind pity for other cultures, and forcing to be viewed equally. Left wingers do that. Like they're say, "oh gangster rap music is not bad, we just don't understand their culture." Riiight.

I hate to be a jerk but just glance at what cultural bias is. If you'd like another great example, read the opening chapter of Guns, Germs, and Steel. There are plenty of articles that address cultural bias, maybe educating yourself would be a worthwhile endeavor.

Name calling is pretty much a last resort in an argument and a pretty petty defensive move. It really saddens me that you can't engage in a conversation in which someone's ideas are different than yours with resorting to calling me names.

To make my point again. No. Your viewpoint is biased to the culture you grew up in, not upon absolute truths.

And, just to stir the pot - why shouldn't cultures be viewed equally? Why is ours so much better than everyone else's?

Finally, this is a discussion about happiness, not rap music. Save it for some other time.

Don't pay attention to Gatsby, come debate with me, .

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
To make my point again. No. Your viewpoint is biased to the culture you grew up in, not upon absolute truths.

You have a truly disturbing way of looking at things. Your line of thinking has made possible all the worst evils in the world because it distorts morality.

There are absolutes. My viewpoints of happiness is one of them. The evidence is the results such line of thinking has had on the human race.

Intellect, independence, freedom, self esteem, self conviction, and other related traits have been present in all of the greatest thinkers and civilization builders throughout human history.

Human beings are not born a blank slate. We have an innate desire for the things I mentioned. They are not man made. It's part of our evolution. Something we discovered and realized could further our existence.

Believe it or not, I tend to be very very humble on some of my opinions I am not sure of, but this is one where I'm 100%, absolutely, ROCK SOLID GRANITE CHISLED sure that this is a universe happiness. It's embedded in our EXISTENCE through nature.

 

[Stiganator]

There is a happiness dealer down on ninth and broadway. 100g for 10 happiness points, once you get to revered look out!

 

[Kaido]

I just bought a Wii and I'm pretty dang happy


Money can buy you happiness...but only short-term happiness. Then the Wii 360 will come out next year and I will need more money to make me more happy.

 

[JS80]

BlinderBomber: Is one truly happy even if his state of "happiness" is based on a lie or propaganda?

I think JLG makes a good point about freedom and true happiness. I tend to agree with him that people who are brainwashed to be "happy" are truly not happy inside (e.g. North Koreans, communists). They may show they are happy on the surface but are truly miserable inside because no matter how you see it repression is repression.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: JS80
I think JLG makes a good point about freedom and true happiness. I tend to agree with him that people who are brainwashed to be "happy" are truly not happy inside (e.g. North Koreans, communists). They may show they are happy on the surface but are truly miserable inside because no matter how you see it repression is repression.

It's more than that. It's part of biology to want to be free and have self esteem. We were BORN to be free. A historian who has studied humans since the beginning of time knows this. It's been proven throughout history.

 

[desy]

The Times January 31, 2006

Unhappy? That's rich . . .
Carol Midgley

Chasing wealth can make you ill and earning over £25,000 a year won?t make you any happier. Who says so? An investment banker, reports


True happiness, said Bob Monkhouse, is when you marry a girl for love and later discover that she has money. We all appreciate the joke, of course, because though one side of us knows that a loving relationship provides a good chance of happiness the other thinks it would be guaranteed if that relationship made us rich as well.
Yet study after study shows that money fails to buy happiness. Incomes have increased threefold in Britain since 1950 but contentment levels have barely shifted. European research indicates that lottery winners revert to their previous levels of happiness within a year of their windfall.

A new report goes further and suggests that chasing wealth might even make you mentally ill. Paranoia, narcissism and attention deficit disorders are just some of the afflictions more likely to dog you if you pursue purely materialistic goals, it says.

Somewhat heretically for a bank employee, it is entitled It Doesn?t Pay: Materialism and the Pursuit of Happiness. Understandably this has been greeted with scepticism by some brokers whose raison d?être is their annual bonus. But Montier says that, as a strategist, he wants to know what makes people tick. He recently wrote a paper on the psychology of happiness and his first rule was: never equate it with money.



Money and Happiness

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: JS80
BlinderBomber: Is one truly happy even if his state of "happiness" is based on a lie or propaganda?

I think JLG makes a good point about freedom and true happiness. I tend to agree with him that people who are brainwashed to be "happy" are truly not happy inside (e.g. North Koreans, communists). They may show they are happy on the surface but are truly miserable inside because no matter how you see it repression is repression.

I think happiness is a mix of basic human requirements, attitude, and personal taste. For starters, there are certain things that make everybody happy, like hanging out with friends or eating yummy food. Then there is your attitude, which can jump into that rich/poor argument - doesn't matter where you are in life, your attitude ultimately determines your happiness level. In the end you either play the victim or else you decide that you control what makes you truly happy. I know alcoholics and druggies who *think* they're happy, but they really aren't, going along with your "brainwashed to be happy" theory. Personal taste is another issue, happiness also means different things to different people. Like my mom wouldn't be caught dead playing Halo, but I have a blast when I have my friends/family over for an evening of fun. Happiness is more complex than people think it is, I think. This is a fun topic

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg
If you look at the two extremes of being in abject poverty and wealthy, you will find that wealthier people are happier. When you have to skip meals because you can't afford to spend money on food, when you have to skip taking your sick child to the doctor because you can't afford it, when you don't know if you'll be sleeping on the streets one night or a bed the other, your worries are much greater in scale than, "do my friends like me only for my money?"

How do you become content with your life if you're restricted by monetary means? You ask why we don't just do whatever we want and yet that's the easiest question to answer. It generally stems back to money. We can't do whatever we want because people have to weigh the risks of differing levels of happiness. Most will have to settle for doing something they may not particularly enjoy because you can't live on your dreams as much as Hollywood has told us that we can. Dreams don't feed, clothe, or shelter you. At most they feed the soul.

Regarding your last point. You can definitely help people around you with an average income but with pure financial security, you can not only focus more on helping but you also have more means to affect a larger amount of people. That may not be what makes you happy in life but it leaves open that option.

You assume that you can help other people because they are in need of money.

I assume that I can help others because with money I can fund my own research programs. With my own money, I can live in third world countries and actually perform real philanthropy. I don't assume that by having money I am just going to give it away and make everyone rich. You make the world a better place by minmizing the hazards of life for others. That is the essence of the Gates foundation. Improving the well-being of mankind by distributing personal wealth in a fashion that benefits many people and not just one.

So aren't you contradicting yourself by saying money buys happiness?

 

[Vegitto]

Enough to go to college, and enough to support my parents. My dad works 40-60h weeks (depends on who is 'sick'), and I'd love it if he could work 40h regular weeks. Currently, work is killing the guy, and going to college would be awesome .

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
To make my point again. No. Your viewpoint is biased to the culture you grew up in, not upon absolute truths.

You have a truly disturbing way or looking at things. Your line of thinking has made possible all the worst evils in the world because it distorts morality.

There are absolutes. My viewpoints of happiness is one of them. The evidence is the results such line of thinking has had on the human race.

Intellect, independence, freedom, self esteem, self conviction, and other related traits have been present in all of the greatest thinkers and civilization builders throughout human history.

Human beings are not born a blank slate. We have an innate desire for the things I mentioned. They are not man made. It's part of our evolution. Something we discovered and realized could further our existence.

Believe it or not, I tend to be very very humble on some of my opinions I am not sure of, but this is one where I'm 100%, absolutely, ROCK SOLID GRANITE CHISLED sure that this is a universe happiness. It's embedded in out EXISTENCE through nature.

Haha no no. Those are opinions. Everyone has them. Cultures have them. Don't attack my views, they aren't responsible for anything other than my own view of the world. You can believe whatever you choose about the corruption of morality, but don't throw my views under the bridge.

There aren't absolutes. Your viewpoint on happiness is an opinion, and a culturally-influenced one at that. Nothing more.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Haha no no. Those are opinions. Everyone has them. Cultures have them. Don't attack my views, they aren't responsible for anything other than my own view of the world. You can believe whatever you choose about the corruption of morality, but don't throw my views under the bridge.

There aren't absolutes. Your viewpoint on happiness is an opinion, and a culturally-influenced one at that. Nothing more.

WRONG. It's BIOLOGICAL fact. Your line of "there are no blacks and whites, only grays" thinking is the worst evil in the world. You need to read some Ayn Rand. You have a cowardly morality.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Haha no no. Those are opinions. Everyone has them. Cultures have them. Don't attack my views, they aren't responsible for anything other than my own view of the world. You can believe whatever you choose about the corruption of morality, but don't throw my views under the bridge.

There aren't absolutes. Your viewpoint on happiness is an opinion, and a culturally-influenced one at that. Nothing more.

WRONG. It's BIOLOGICAL fact. Your line of "there are no blacks and whites, only grays" thinking is the worst evil in the world. You need to read some Ayn Rand. You have a cowardly morality.

JLGatsby, you said in another thread that murder is wrong. Do you still believe it?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
To make my point again. No. Your viewpoint is biased to the culture you grew up in, not upon absolute truths.

You have a truly disturbing way of looking at things. Your line of thinking has made possible all the worst evils in the world because it distorts morality.

There are absolutes. My viewpoints of happiness is one of them. The evidence is the results such line of thinking has had on the human race.
Please, sell it to someone who's buying.

Intellect, independence, freedom, self esteem, self conviction, and other related traits have been present in all of the greatest thinkers and civilization builders throughout human history.
So has luck, dependence, self centeredness and other negative traits.

Human beings are not born a blank slate. We have an innate desire for the things I mentioned. They are not man made. It's part of our evolution. Something we discovered and realized could further our existence.
Let's not do the Nature vs. Nurture thing. Man has as much innate desire for evil and self gratification as anything else.

Believe it or not, I tend to be very very humble on some of my opinions I am not sure of, but this is one where I'm 100%, absolutely, ROCK SOLID GRANITE CHISLED sure that this is a universe happiness. It's embedded in our EXISTENCE through nature.

People who are "ROCK SOLID GRANITE CHISLED sure that this is a universe happiness." frighten me way more than the guy in the dark alleyway seeking to liberate me from my money because of their desire to influence others.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg
If you look at the two extremes of being in abject poverty and wealthy, you will find that wealthier people are happier. When you have to skip meals because you can't afford to spend money on food, when you have to skip taking your sick child to the doctor because you can't afford it, when you don't know if you'll be sleeping on the streets one night or a bed the other, your worries are much greater in scale than, "do my friends like me only for my money?"

How do you become content with your life if you're restricted by monetary means? You ask why we don't just do whatever we want and yet that's the easiest question to answer. It generally stems back to money. We can't do whatever we want because people have to weigh the risks of differing levels of happiness. Most will have to settle for doing something they may not particularly enjoy because you can't live on your dreams as much as Hollywood has told us that we can. Dreams don't feed, clothe, or shelter you. At most they feed the soul.

Regarding your last point. You can definitely help people around you with an average income but with pure financial security, you can not only focus more on helping but you also have more means to affect a larger amount of people. That may not be what makes you happy in life but it leaves open that option.

You assume that you can help other people because they are in need of money.

I assume that I can help others because with money I can fund my own research programs. With my own money, I can live in third world countries and actually perform real philanthropy. I don't assume that by having money I am just going to give it away and make everyone rich. You make the world a better place by minmizing the hazards of life for others. That is the essence of the Gates foundation. Improving the well-being of mankind by distributing personal wealth in a fashion that benefits many people and not just one.

So aren't you contradicting yourself by saying money buys happiness?

Money encourages financial security. Financial security allows you more freedom to pursue experiences that make you happy. I don't see how that's contradictory.

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: her209
JLGatsby, you said in another thread that murder is wrong. Do you still believe it?

I said, based on a "risk/reward" in today's society, knowing that most murders probably get caught, you would have to be "insane" to murder. The risk is not worth the end result. You could end up in jail for life at best or worst, death penalty.

I never said it was evil.

 

[Staples]

I have wondered this this before and I don't think it would help me.

It may for some people depending on what your condition is but for me, lots of money probably would not help a whole lot.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: her209
JLGatsby, you said in another thread that murder is wrong. Do you still believe it?

I said, based on a "risk/reward" in today's society, knowing that most murders probably get caught, you would have to be "insane" to murder. The risk is not worth the end result. You could end up in jail for life at best or worst, death penalty.

I never said it was evil.

Yes or no. Black or white.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: JS80
BlinderBomber: Is one truly happy even if his state of "happiness" is based on a lie or propaganda?

I think JLG makes a good point about freedom and true happiness. I tend to agree with him that people who are brainwashed to be "happy" are truly not happy inside (e.g. North Koreans, communists). They may show they are happy on the surface but are truly miserable inside because no matter how you see it repression is repression.

Absolutely not. True happiness is both a culturally-influenced and highly personal state of being. I think you're confusing what I'm saying, and that's probably because I'm not articulating myself very well.

What I mean to say is that cultures (not governments) help determine what makes you happy. Living under a repressive regime that takes everything you own and tortures you won't make you happy. Living under a regime that emphasizes collective good over individuality may lead to a genuine state of happiness.

What if I claimed you were brainwashed into believing that freedom was the key to true happiness? Isn't that the same, on some level, as being told what is best for the group is best for you?

 

[senseamp]

It would not buy me happiness, and it would take away the one part about money that I do enjoy, which is the process of making it.
It might buy some comfort and peace of mind, but not happiness.

 

[czech09]

Temporary happiness yes, long term - no.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: glutenberg
If you look at the two extremes of being in abject poverty and wealthy, you will find that wealthier people are happier. When you have to skip meals because you can't afford to spend money on food, when you have to skip taking your sick child to the doctor because you can't afford it, when you don't know if you'll be sleeping on the streets one night or a bed the other, your worries are much greater in scale than, "do my friends like me only for my money?"

How do you become content with your life if you're restricted by monetary means? You ask why we don't just do whatever we want and yet that's the easiest question to answer. It generally stems back to money. We can't do whatever we want because people have to weigh the risks of differing levels of happiness. Most will have to settle for doing something they may not particularly enjoy because you can't live on your dreams as much as Hollywood has told us that we can. Dreams don't feed, clothe, or shelter you. At most they feed the soul.

Regarding your last point. You can definitely help people around you with an average income but with pure financial security, you can not only focus more on helping but you also have more means to affect a larger amount of people. That may not be what makes you happy in life but it leaves open that option.

You assume that you can help other people because they are in need of money.

I assume that I can help others because with money I can fund my own research programs. With my own money, I can live in third world countries and actually perform real philanthropy. I don't assume that by having money I am just going to give it away and make everyone rich. You make the world a better place by minmizing the hazards of life for others. That is the essence of the Gates foundation. Improving the well-being of mankind by distributing personal wealth in a fashion that benefits many people and not just one.

So aren't you contradicting yourself by saying money buys happiness?

Money encourages financial security. Financial security allows you more freedom to pursue experiences that make you happy. I don't see how that's contradictory.

What I meant was if money could buy happiness, wouldn't just giving it away to people make it a better place because the recipient would be happier?

 

[JLGatsby]

Originally posted by: her209
Yes or no. Black or white.

Honestly, I think murder is up for toss in terms of good/evil.

Is it wrong to murder someone who is trying to murder you? What if the government makes self defense illegal? The government certainly is not to define what is and isn't "right/wrong. I just said you'd have to be insane to risk doing it.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Haha no no. Those are opinions. Everyone has them. Cultures have them. Don't attack my views, they aren't responsible for anything other than my own view of the world. You can believe whatever you choose about the corruption of morality, but don't throw my views under the bridge.

There aren't absolutes. Your viewpoint on happiness is an opinion, and a culturally-influenced one at that. Nothing more.

WRONG. It's BIOLOGICAL fact. Your line of "there are no blacks and whites, only grays" thinking is the worst evil in the world. You need to read some Ayn Rand. You have a cowardly morality.

Biological? Find me the "Freedom" gene. Find any proof whatsoever that freedom is a biologically transmitted trait.

There ARE blacks and whites, silly. Not everyone lives in the same world you do, not everyone chooses to play by the same rules. Rather than steamroll other cultures, I'm actually recognizing their differences while you are simply assuming (and homogenizing the whole world and all of human history).

Cowardly morality? Please, stop the name calling. It's childish. Not to mention it makes you look like a fool.