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I happen to know someone who dislikes the rich very much. It really has nothing to do with how the person was able to obtain that much money and it is definitely not envy. It's what riches do to a person mentally over time. Case in point, just look at how many people who have won the lottery find it ruins their lives? In any case, this person says, "The rich have no value." Of course, this is a blanket term, a stereotype if you will, which I don't agree with stereotypes at all. Here, however, is this person's reasoning listed out.....
1. The rich tend to be paranoid about losing what they have, and so become fearful and untrusting of the "have nots."
2. The rich tend to feel they are above the law, above the rules.
3. The rich have a tendency to look down on those who have little as lazy idiots, even if the "have not" in question works in a highly laborious job out in the extreme hot and cold.
4. The rich tend to have an attitude of entitlement, as if they are rich because they deserve to be or that they are rich because God favors them for one reason or another, even when their wealth comes from extraordinary circumstances, such as an inheritance or windfall of some kind.
5. The rich tend to be highly judgmental of others.
6. The rich tend to have little regard for others because they, themselves, know they can buy themselves out of a situation and don't care if other people involved don't have that luxury. This one I have had experience with. I live in a very rich area of the country and have been run off the road a couple of times; once by a Mercedes and once by a Hummer, both times were blatantly the other person's fault and both times the other person drove on without any second thought as to if I was okay as my car lie in the ditch.
7. The rich are able to have other people do everything for them, so the longer they enjoy great wealth, the more ignorant they become. When you never have to change your own oil or tires, never have to do repairs on your house, or live in close proximity to other people, what experience are you gaining from life? Not much. It's those who have nothing who have to do for themselves who continue to grow stronger and wiser and more experienced with time.
Lastly, I would like to pipe in with my own opinion here. I dated a guy one time who was pretty well off, but was miserable as I've ever seen a person to be. He was miserable, I was later able to piece together, because there was no challenge left in his life. Being rich is like playing a video game where you have all the cheat codes; BORING! He had made his wealth. He was set for life. There was no challenge left, so all he could do was go through the motions of life, waiting to die. Sadly, he was only 24-years-old at that time.
Personally, I have nothing against the rich, but I also don't want to be rich. I want to be comfortable, have enough money to pay my bills, and that's about it. Being rich is not all it's cracked up to be. Everyone seems to think that coming into a lot of money solves all your problems. It doesn't. It only complicates life and makes things more stressful.
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colonial b...
robbrown
there are some nice rich people that understand and don't act like that .
I guess because thay are in there own worlds.
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The fact is money does not corrupt people but only highlights our flaws.
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Is this resentment, I don't know?
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And there is a difference between new money and old money. People with new money vs old money act differently and thats where you get some being judgmental and feel that they are superior.
Not all rich people are this way, but i feel the majority of the population have this negative view on the rich because most of the rich people we see are through the media (The hills, Paris Hilton, all the famous actors/athletes who get DUI's and get out of them). Dont let this mis-judge your view on the rich. Lots of people who have money donate and do great work with their money, and lets hope they spend it, because it helps the economy tremendously.
And there is a difference between the rich and the super rich. Now-a-days a few million dollars is considered rich, but if you think about it its really not that much money.
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I think for the people that hate them, it's about hating something you won't attain or are too lazy to work for. Everyone has the ability to become wealthy in the U.S., it's just about how much do you want it. Some people are content with making by with what they have and having a nice retirement. Poor people are funny.
I think the problem is, when people hate on the the rich, they lump all of them into one category. Kinda like racism. And assume that all of them are corrupt and snobby. But how many millionaires or billionaires do those haters know? I personally know of a handful, including a billionaire and if you didn't know they were rich you wouldn't have a clue. They dress the same, eat the same foods, and talk the same. Some are nice and some are high-mucky-muck. Just like everyone else in this world.
"You can't judge others by the actions of a few"
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It is tempting to assume that the poor don't work hard enough and don't value education, but that's not true for all poor people. For one, there aren't enough jobs for everyone, even if we all went to college and busted our behinds at 40 hour a week jobs. If we all went to college,McDonald's would start to require college degrees. For two, all jobs are not equal.Anyone would rather make $25 and hour versus $7, but there are less and less jobs paying a decent wage, and more paying way too little.
Here's some charts to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
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That being said, not all rich people fit this criteria. I know a lot of "rich" people who are amazing. You don't hear many people saying they hate Oprah or Bill Gates (at least with valid reasons).
Also, I don't necessarily think it's true that rich people are "hard workers." Some are, but there are also many who have just gotten lucky breaks (and I don't mean the lottery) or have been born into the wealth. The book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell touches on this a bit. Even someone like Bill Gates owes a lot of his success to happenstance.
I am curious where this question arose from. Does it have anything to do with tax legislation?
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My problem is with rich people who are not generous. The rich have the opportunity to be magnificent, which is a virtue that Aristotle encouraged. Magnificence is giving money to the community for its betterment. For instance, Dale Carnegie exercised magnificence when he paid for libraries all over the country.
The rich should donate some of their money, say 10%, to worthy charities and institutions, or pay for facilities like libraries or youth centers. This could go a long way to what samid said about the rich, ie. allowing them to feel good about themselves again.
Source(s):
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
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Answered Question
M$1
July 10, 2009 06:44 PM
Why do so many people dislike the rich?
Is it just envy. Why are the rich rich? They're not theives, they're hard workers.
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| July 10, 2009 07:31 PM |
1. The rich tend to be paranoid about losing what they have, and so become fearful and untrusting of the "have nots."
2. The rich tend to feel they are above the law, above the rules.
3. The rich have a tendency to look down on those who have little as lazy idiots, even if the "have not" in question works in a highly laborious job out in the extreme hot and cold.
4. The rich tend to have an attitude of entitlement, as if they are rich because they deserve to be or that they are rich because God favors them for one reason or another, even when their wealth comes from extraordinary circumstances, such as an inheritance or windfall of some kind.
5. The rich tend to be highly judgmental of others.
6. The rich tend to have little regard for others because they, themselves, know they can buy themselves out of a situation and don't care if other people involved don't have that luxury. This one I have had experience with. I live in a very rich area of the country and have been run off the road a couple of times; once by a Mercedes and once by a Hummer, both times were blatantly the other person's fault and both times the other person drove on without any second thought as to if I was okay as my car lie in the ditch.
7. The rich are able to have other people do everything for them, so the longer they enjoy great wealth, the more ignorant they become. When you never have to change your own oil or tires, never have to do repairs on your house, or live in close proximity to other people, what experience are you gaining from life? Not much. It's those who have nothing who have to do for themselves who continue to grow stronger and wiser and more experienced with time.
Lastly, I would like to pipe in with my own opinion here. I dated a guy one time who was pretty well off, but was miserable as I've ever seen a person to be. He was miserable, I was later able to piece together, because there was no challenge left in his life. Being rich is like playing a video game where you have all the cheat codes; BORING! He had made his wealth. He was set for life. There was no challenge left, so all he could do was go through the motions of life, waiting to die. Sadly, he was only 24-years-old at that time.
Personally, I have nothing against the rich, but I also don't want to be rich. I want to be comfortable, have enough money to pay my bills, and that's about it. Being rich is not all it's cracked up to be. Everyone seems to think that coming into a lot of money solves all your problems. It doesn't. It only complicates life and makes things more stressful.
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Helpful: irishstephen1974, bunnyphuphu, gno, defolts, robbrown, krysstel
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colonial b...
July 10, 2009 08:10 PM
People who win the lottery are in a different section all together. When the only way you know how to make money is a billion to one shot, you don't actually know how to manage money. I agree money won't solve your problems, but disagree it complicates things. I know the type of guy you mean, and I tend to think they're miserable and want to become rich because they think that will make them happier, not that they're miserable because they're rich.
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robbrown
July 11, 2009 02:18 PM
That's a really great answer, Samid!
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Other Answers (14)
July 10, 2009 11:41 PM
I think it goes back to the day when rich people used to look rich to let people know that some feel like thay have power over us . It is like see all i have don't mess with me . there are some nice rich people that understand and don't act like that .
I guess because thay are in there own worlds.
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July 11, 2009 12:42 AM
The best explanation for this has nothing to do with rich people but the people who are not part of the rich elites of society. A lot of people like to emphasize the fact that some of the rich can be considered immoral or corrupt but many people who are not rich are just as corrupt and immoral. We like to portray the rich this way because we want to feel better about ourselves. I mean come on who here would say no to a million dollars? The fact is money does not corrupt people but only highlights our flaws.
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July 11, 2009 03:03 AM
Oh, with today’s economy and the numbers growing by the thousands who are unemployed. To answer to the state and to rebuttal and dispute the reasons why you want to appeal the decision for not being eligible for unemployment only to find out it will take another 31 days for them to review your file. To walk the streets day after day or answer to a 1000 help wanted ads on Craig's list, only to find out that they were a scam. It is not the poor who offers jobs, nor the poor who decide if you qualify for unemployment. It is not the poor who sets the standards for minimum wage, or set the standard for who get assistance when you are down on your luck and need help. It is not the poor who say what kind of medical benefits you qualify for. It is but the rich who run the state, it is but the rich who decide who you and where you are. Is this resentment, I don't know?
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July 11, 2009 04:19 AM
Your comment seems a bit incoherent. I'm not sure what Craig's list scams have to do with anything. How bout the poor figure out how to make money, so then they won't need welfare and they could just pay out of pocket for medical costs. "It is not the poor who offer jobs".....I'm not sure what your saying here but of course they don't, because they dont have any money to pay workers. Whether they realize or not, everyone decides where they are in life by the amount of effort they put in.........
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July 11, 2009 03:15 PM
Actually, her statement made perfect sense to me.
In other words, the rich write the laws and run the government. The rich decide how much minimum wage is, what medical benefits you can get, and so on.
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In other words, the rich write the laws and run the government. The rich decide how much minimum wage is, what medical benefits you can get, and so on.
July 11, 2009 03:41 AM
I do not dislike rich people, I just keep my distance. They are people like everybody else, but most of them think they are better than the others just because they have money. That is what I dislike about them; and that they always make it their way,even if that means crushing somebody else.Not all rich people lack ethics but sadly most of them do.
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July 11, 2009 03:52 AM
People hate what they dont have. Lets face it, everyone would like to be rich. Whether you spend your money on cars, or do pro bono work w/ it it dont matter, people want that stability. And there is a difference between new money and old money. People with new money vs old money act differently and thats where you get some being judgmental and feel that they are superior.
Not all rich people are this way, but i feel the majority of the population have this negative view on the rich because most of the rich people we see are through the media (The hills, Paris Hilton, all the famous actors/athletes who get DUI's and get out of them). Dont let this mis-judge your view on the rich. Lots of people who have money donate and do great work with their money, and lets hope they spend it, because it helps the economy tremendously.
And there is a difference between the rich and the super rich. Now-a-days a few million dollars is considered rich, but if you think about it its really not that much money.
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July 11, 2009 09:36 AM
Diamonds and gold are not white owned, rather diamonds are harvested in Africa and most are brought/traded overseas, and originated as blood diamonds. Same with gold, it is not panned up in San Francisco anymore. I think for the people that hate them, it's about hating something you won't attain or are too lazy to work for. Everyone has the ability to become wealthy in the U.S., it's just about how much do you want it. Some people are content with making by with what they have and having a nice retirement. Poor people are funny.
I think the problem is, when people hate on the the rich, they lump all of them into one category. Kinda like racism. And assume that all of them are corrupt and snobby. But how many millionaires or billionaires do those haters know? I personally know of a handful, including a billionaire and if you didn't know they were rich you wouldn't have a clue. They dress the same, eat the same foods, and talk the same. Some are nice and some are high-mucky-muck. Just like everyone else in this world.
"You can't judge others by the actions of a few"
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July 11, 2009 09:49 AM
"You can't judge others by the actions of a few".....thats absolutely true. They're not all Bernie Madoff
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July 11, 2009 03:25 PM
"Everyone has the ability to become wealthy in the U.S., it's just about how much do you want it."
Nearly everyone wants this. If you're a proponent of some superstitious nonsense like the "law of attraction," which basically says that if you want something, all you have to do is wish for it hard enough to get it, then you might want to look into all the debunking of "The Secret."
What I perceive in your answer is a prejudice against people who "don't want it enough," which is just as bad as hating all rich people. Please, though, post back to Mahalo when you have struck it rich. Apparently you want it enough, so I would like to know how that works out for you.
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Nearly everyone wants this. If you're a proponent of some superstitious nonsense like the "law of attraction," which basically says that if you want something, all you have to do is wish for it hard enough to get it, then you might want to look into all the debunking of "The Secret."
What I perceive in your answer is a prejudice against people who "don't want it enough," which is just as bad as hating all rich people. Please, though, post back to Mahalo when you have struck it rich. Apparently you want it enough, so I would like to know how that works out for you.
July 11, 2009 09:50 AM
I would say a lot of it has to do with inequality. I sometimes find myself wondering "What on earth can a person do with all that money?" There's a saying that goes something like "the rich can all they can, and then sit on the can." It's not that the rich don't give money, but it seems like they don't give that much opportunity for the poorer people (read: most of us) to improve economic status, especially if you're really poor. It is tempting to assume that the poor don't work hard enough and don't value education, but that's not true for all poor people. For one, there aren't enough jobs for everyone, even if we all went to college and busted our behinds at 40 hour a week jobs. If we all went to college,McDonald's would start to require college degrees. For two, all jobs are not equal.Anyone would rather make $25 and hour versus $7, but there are less and less jobs paying a decent wage, and more paying way too little.
Here's some charts to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
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July 11, 2009 09:04 PM
Okay, i should rephrase my subtext from the top. I'm not just that poor people don't work hard, but theirs a certain risk in starting a business or really making money. You could fail and be more broke, and a lot of people are not willing to take that risk.
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July 11, 2009 12:35 PM
hah. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say, "God, I hate rich people." What I hate is drastic generalizations, and this question seems like one to me. (no offense!) However, there are obviously some things about *some* members of the upper class that many people could find fault with: how they spend their money, arrogance, flaunting, greediness, etc. But there are general traits about any group of people you want to name that you could find fault with. That being said, not all rich people fit this criteria. I know a lot of "rich" people who are amazing. You don't hear many people saying they hate Oprah or Bill Gates (at least with valid reasons).
Also, I don't necessarily think it's true that rich people are "hard workers." Some are, but there are also many who have just gotten lucky breaks (and I don't mean the lottery) or have been born into the wealth. The book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell touches on this a bit. Even someone like Bill Gates owes a lot of his success to happenstance.
I am curious where this question arose from. Does it have anything to do with tax legislation?
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July 11, 2009 03:29 PM
I like Bill Gates. Whatever people think about him as a business man, he has ended up starting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with his own money, which helps many people.
I strongly dislike Oprah, because I think she's dangerous. This article in Newsweek explains why better than I could.
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I strongly dislike Oprah, because I think she's dangerous. This article in Newsweek explains why better than I could.
July 11, 2009 08:57 PM
Okay lets use Bill Gates as an example. He developed computers more efficently and cheaper, so now a lot of people in the world have computers. Was that just happenstance? Is he not a hard worker? Does he not deserve several billion dollars
It kinda has to do with taxes, but this has been around for a while.
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It kinda has to do with taxes, but this has been around for a while.
July 11, 2009 09:24 PM
No, I completely agree with you that Bill Gates is a hard worker. However, I would not attribute his wealth to hard work alone. The majority of "hard workers" never become rich. Working smart is more important than working hard. He put in a lot of time at his craft at a young age, but the reason he was able to do this was the result of pure chance: his high school happened to be one of the very few during that time period that had access to computer systems. I do think he deserves his wealth. I just don't think he got it from hard work alone. True wealth (gained in the most respectable way) requires a lot of things in addition to the hard work.
@jfesmire But do you dislike Oprah because she is rich? That's the point here, not whether she has guests that partake in controversial medical procedures on her show. As for Oprah herself, she has done an incredible amount of charity and awesome things in her life. Just the fact that she alone has motivated many Americans to read more makes me respect the hell out of her.
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@jfesmire But do you dislike Oprah because she is rich? That's the point here, not whether she has guests that partake in controversial medical procedures on her show. As for Oprah herself, she has done an incredible amount of charity and awesome things in her life. Just the fact that she alone has motivated many Americans to read more makes me respect the hell out of her.
July 11, 2009 03:21 PM
I don't have a problem with rich people per se. I mean, if I were given, or knew how to earn, millions of dollars, I would do it. My problem is with rich people who are not generous. The rich have the opportunity to be magnificent, which is a virtue that Aristotle encouraged. Magnificence is giving money to the community for its betterment. For instance, Dale Carnegie exercised magnificence when he paid for libraries all over the country.
The rich should donate some of their money, say 10%, to worthy charities and institutions, or pay for facilities like libraries or youth centers. This could go a long way to what samid said about the rich, ie. allowing them to feel good about themselves again.
Source(s):
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
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July 11, 2009 08:58 PM
If the rich don't want to donate thats their business, ITS THEIR MONEY. They already get almost 40% taxed, but they don't give enough of their money away?
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July 11, 2009 10:34 PM
Are you kidding me?
40% of what the rich make is a huge amount of money. Yes, it's up to them if they want to donate money to help others. It's also my prerogative to think they're terrible people if they don't. We're talking about people in the upper 1% or less of society, people with more money than they could possibly need, while other hard working people are virtually starving.
So yeah, keep that attitude. If you're not rich, it doesn't make much sense though.
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40% of what the rich make is a huge amount of money. Yes, it's up to them if they want to donate money to help others. It's also my prerogative to think they're terrible people if they don't. We're talking about people in the upper 1% or less of society, people with more money than they could possibly need, while other hard working people are virtually starving.
So yeah, keep that attitude. If you're not rich, it doesn't make much sense though.
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