Is it inherently wrong for a wealthy person to spend extravagantly? (millionaires, dollars)
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It's quite common for people to ridicule wealthy people for spending tons of money on things like mansions, private jets, expensive cars, etc. etc. But is it really inherently wrong?
On one hand it is easy for poor or even middle class types to criticize for it and say things like they should be spending their money helping the less fortunate etc. Is it really right to criticize for it?
On one hand while it may be easy to say for us poorer folk can we really say without a doubt we wouldn't if we became wealthy? Also, as much as we like to think/believe the only reason wealthy people are wealthy is due to exploiting others and shady means shouldn't those that do become wealthy due to working hard and/or being innovative earn the right to a higher standard of living and getting nicer things?
As much as I can agree there are those that do attain wealth due to immoral and unethical means, I still think that's better than the communist model where no matter how hard you work or innovate you are you don't deserve more than someone that works at McDonald's for their whole life.
Another one of these posts questioning what people should spend their money on. They worked for it or inherited it. It is none of my business whether they buy a $5000 handbag, a $200 pair of sunglasses or a $250,000 car. It's also none of my business if they do or don't contribute a dime of their money to charity.
nope, if all the rich people stop spending money, then the layoff will begin.
Rich people don't spend their money - they invest it. That's how they get rich in the first place. The people that keep merchants in business are the middle class and the poor. You can argue for the removal of food stamps if those food stamps are replaced with dollars, but if you cut off food stamps to people who can't get jobs, the first ones to feel the effects are the grocery stores.
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Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming
How could anyone not ridicule the poor for this sort of behavior? It's a public display of stupidity. Of course, the poor don't exhibit much intelligence in anything.
As probably the poorest person on this forum, thank you so much for telling me I have no intelligence. I wouldn't have known, otherwise.
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Originally Posted by JustMike77
So you're saying that being wealthy would make you feel guilty ? This is very common. Many people would also feel guilty outpacing their parents or their peers. It is this kind of negative thinking that holds people back from becoming all that they can be.
Really? Tell this to Warren Buffet or Bill Gates.
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Originally Posted by tassity22
When wealthy people buy things, it helps the economy and it helps other people earn more at their jobs so they can feed their own families.
Again, the wealthy people don't buy much with their money. When they do, they get discounts for large dollar purchases, discounts for paying in cash instead of getting loans, and discounts for buying in bulk, something a lot of people can't afford to do.
As a merchant, which would you rather do? Sell 10 top-of-the-line fridges for $5000 each or sell 150 fridges for $500 each? How many people do you know that will pay $5000 for a fridge? Do you think there are more $5000 fridges being sold in this country or do you think there are more $500 dollar fridges being sold? It's the same with cars. Or boats or anything else you can name. The majority of people buying the low end items are the ones contributing the most to the economy in the long run. If our economy depended solely on what the rich bought (not to mention the lack of jobs they create), our economy would collapse in less than year.
As a matter of fact, that's exactly what did happen during the housing crisis. The bankers ran out of rich people to fund their CDOs and then turned to people who couldn't afford the loans they took out. Our economy pretty much collapsed when those people defaulted and survived only because of the bailouts the governments gave the banks.
I think that wealthy business owners have a certain obligation to make sure that their workers are being paid well and have decent working conditions. I think they also have an obligation to not exploit tax loopholes or run business in a way that is especially degrading to the environment. I also think it is good when the wealthy donate to charitable causes or to universities, museums, and other such institutions. I don't think there's any set percentage that people should give, but I do believe that we should all try to make the world a better place. I don't mind rich people having big houses or owning yachts or whatever, so long as they also make an effort to do the things mentioned above.
As probably the poorest person on this forum, thank you so much for telling me I have no intelligence. I wouldn't have known, otherwise.
If you are poor, how do you know what the rich do with their money?
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Originally Posted by rodentraiser
Rich people don't spend their money - they invest it. That's how they get rich in the first place. The people that keep merchants in business are the middle class and the poor. You can argue for the removal of food stamps if those food stamps are replaced with dollars, but if you cut off food stamps to people who can't get jobs, the first ones to feel the effects are the grocery stores.
Rich people don't spend their money?
They do where I live. They buy houses for a million dollars and then tear them down and build a new one. They drive Mercedes, Audi, Range Rovers, Bentleys, and any number of Italian sports cars with so many vowels I can't spell them.
They belong to yacht clubs, tennis clubs, country clubs and beach clubs.
The ones that don't own private planes fly first class to their homes in Hawaii, Colorado, Mexico, etc.
When they get tired of the locations where their second and third homes are they fly to NYC, San Francisco, Paris, Hong Kong, etc to shop.
Their kids have private tutors for everything from lacrosse to music to college exam prep. If they play a high school sport then you can bet they are on a traveling team to get more experience and they go to the best camps for the sport.
The rich spend a lot.
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Originally Posted by rodentraiser
Again, the wealthy people don't buy much with their money. When they do, they get discounts for large dollar purchases, discounts for paying in cash instead of getting loans, and discounts for buying in bulk, something a lot of people can't afford to do.
As a merchant, which would you rather do? Sell 10 top-of-the-line fridges for $5000 each or sell 150 fridges for $500 each? How many people do you know that will pay $5000 for a fridge? Do you think there are more $5000 fridges being sold in this country or do you think there are more $500 dollar fridges being sold? It's the same with cars. Or boats or anything else you can name. The majority of people buying the low end items are the ones contributing the most to the economy in the long run. If our economy depended solely on what the rich bought (not to mention the lack of jobs they create), our economy would collapse in less than year.
Again, as the poorest person on this forum, how do you know how the rich spend their money?
Sears makes $3,000 refrigerators and $300 refrigerators. They probably sell more of the $300 ones, but there is obviously a market for the $3,000 or else they wouldn't make them. I can also guarantee you that there is more profit in the $3,000 frig, which helps keeps the costs down on the other models.
But the rich aren't buying refrigerators from Sears. They buy from companies like Viking, Liebherr, Jenn-Air and Miele whose refrigerators range from $4,000 to $40,000. There wouldn't be four high end appliance companies (not to mention KitchenAid and GE and a few others) if there was not a market for them.
There are 10.2 MILLION millionaires in the U.S., 1.2 million households with net worth between $5 million and $25 million and 145,000 households with net worth over $25 million. There is a lot of disposable income there and it get disposed of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rodentraiser
As a matter of fact, that's exactly what did happen during the housing crisis. The bankers ran out of rich people to fund their CDOs and then turned to people who couldn't afford the loans they took out. Our economy pretty much collapsed when those people defaulted and survived only because of the bailouts the governments gave the banks.
You don't have much of an understanding of what caused the economic woes in 2007. The seeds were set decades ago.
I think that wealthy business owners have a certain obligation to make sure that their workers are being paid well and have decent working conditions. I think they also have an obligation to not exploit tax loopholes or run business in a way that is especially degrading to the environment. I also think it is good when the wealthy donate to charitable causes or to universities, museums, and other such institutions. I don't think there's any set percentage that people should give, but I do believe that we should all try to make the world a better place. I don't mind rich people having big houses or owning yachts or whatever, so long as they also make an effort to do the things mentioned above.
A lot of your post is good but they absolutely should exploit tax loopholes whenever possible.
Spend it however you wish but unless youre making it back you wont be wealthy for long.
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