Jasz
VIP Contributor
I have always been surprised by the ease with which people assume that money can have a negative effect on people. It's as if there is some kind of agreement between everyone that it's bad to have money, and everyone knows that this is so.
But it isn't true. It would be nice if we could all agree that having money is a good thing, but we can't. That's why I think people talk about "money problems" rather than "money problems." Nobody who has enough money doesn't have any problems; they just don't feel like they do because they're used to it.
If you want an example of how easy it is to assume money has a negative effect on people, look at the way we think about poverty. Poverty is usually defined as being unable to afford food or shelter; those are things you can't do without when you're poor, so it seems reasonable to assume that without them your life would be terrible. But in fact many poor people can afford food and shelter: they just don't want them because they like their other things better.
But it isn't true. It would be nice if we could all agree that having money is a good thing, but we can't. That's why I think people talk about "money problems" rather than "money problems." Nobody who has enough money doesn't have any problems; they just don't feel like they do because they're used to it.
If you want an example of how easy it is to assume money has a negative effect on people, look at the way we think about poverty. Poverty is usually defined as being unable to afford food or shelter; those are things you can't do without when you're poor, so it seems reasonable to assume that without them your life would be terrible. But in fact many poor people can afford food and shelter: they just don't want them because they like their other things better.