Stealth Moose
Umbrella Elite
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
Well, the point I was trying to make is that one can be as rich as they want to be. Yes, semantics is important in this equation. The topic was a question of whether or not wealth comes from luck or hard work. There is a certain amount of luck involved in life but one generally makes their own luck. This comes from one's attitude and efforts. What ever goal you strive towards will become reality in some fashion, if you see it through. If money is what you want out of life, then you will receive money.
Just to clarify: money is out there, agreed. Sufficient money, being money enough for people to live comfortably, is NOT out there, because a large majority of it is over-concentrated in a small minority.
I was trying to convey that, even the rich are never rich enough. It's often the tale in life that the poor man lives a more wealthy life than the rich one. The poor envy the rich and the rich often envy the poor...,all without knowing it.
I doubt that any rich truly envy the poor. That's a Hollywood cliche. While you could say "money doesn't necessarily equate happiness", it's a lot easier to deal with your life problems being economically stable than when working two to three jobs and barely making ends meet.
The system, however, does supply adequate means for those willing. Sometimes those who need it the most do get over looked and those that don't really need it at all abuse it. This isn't to say there shouldn't be a system because it's what makes us a community in many senses. The fact that there is a system at all is a great thing to appreciate.
True. We need social support structures. Often, the arguments against said structures cite abuses, but this argument does not extend to other abuse-able things like guns, cars, and chocolate. There needs to be a balance; not too much reliance, and not too much indifference.
However, the problem with American society today (Or one of many) is that the cost of living increases often, and the wages of those needing to make ends meet does not increase at the same level. Meanwhile, the rich are getting much richer, and most feel entitled to their success and they complain when they feel like others expect more of a social responsibility from them. But the fact is that none of them developed and succeeded in a vacuum; they grew up with social structures like schools, hospitals, law enforcement etc., benefited from these pre-existing groups of people who made their lives possible, traveling on roads others paid for, living under lights subsidized by others, wearing clothes others wove and learning things others discovered.
From my POV, everyone has a social responsibility towards each other. Not an accountability so much as a pay-it-forward, which is necessary to keep the system going. The buck doesn't stop on your table and gather dust simply because you found your piece of success.