Rich or Poor: Some interesting social research

[rosetta]

http://www.upworthy.com/take-two-normal-people-add-money-to-just-one-of-them-and-watch-what-happens-next

I'm not surprised at the findings, just disappointed!

Do you consider yourself rich? Or poor? Or somewhere in between?

 

[sonnyjane]

Super interesting and something I've definitely observed in life.

The question is, do rich people act "mean", or do people become rich because they already possess qualities that cause them to make more money, such as greed, self-preservation (lie, cheat, steal), inflated ego (confidence leads to promotions at work), etc.?

I'm not poor. I'm definitely not rich.

 

[zoebartlett]

Well, at the moment, I'm not feeling like the richest person in the world because I'm unemployed and job hunting, but I do realize that we're better off than others. I heard a story the other day about a woman whose husband has been unemployed for many months and she is a stay at home mom to their two kids. His unemployment benefits are about to run out and they have no idea what they're going to do. While I'm nervous for my husband and me, w're not in as dire of a situation as they are.

 

[SB621]

Super interesting and something I've definitely observed in life.

The question is, do rich people act "mean", or do people become rich because they already possess qualities that cause them to make more money, such as greed, self-preservation (lie, cheat, steal), inflated ego (confidence leads to promotions at work), etc.?

I'm not poor. I'm definitely not rich.

This exactly!!! I hustle at my job so I can make a comfortable living, but I have passed on opportunities to spend more time with my DH and kids. In fact having kids put me behind on my career path. I walk somewhere in the middle.

Interesting article. I'm not sure I agree with everything said. I have met some wonderful CEO's for large companies and the qualities that got them their positions didn't require them to lower their ethical standards.

 

[sonnyjane]

Super interesting and something I've definitely observed in life.

The question is, do rich people act "mean", or do people become rich because they already possess qualities that cause them to make more money, such as greed, self-preservation (lie, cheat, steal), inflated ego (confidence leads to promotions at work), etc.?

I'm not poor. I'm definitely not rich.

This exactly!!! I hustle at my job so I can make a comfortable living, but I have passed on opportunities to spend more time with my DH and kids. In fact having kids put me behind on my career path. I walk somewhere in the middle.

Interesting article. I'm not sure I agree with everything said. I have met some wonderful CEO's for large companies and the qualities that got them their positions didn't require them to lower their ethical standards.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't dare imagine that all rich people are greedy, "mean", etc., just like not all poor people are nice (I KNOW that's not true!!!). But it is interesting. I was watching a reality show today about people that flip houses, and this guy bought some houses, was renovating them, and selling them for profit. He was the most successful flipper in the entire state where he lived, but he acted HORRIBLE. He spoke to everyone like they were worthless, he was completely conceited, totally a controlling a-hole, and it made me think "he is a total jerk, but it probably makes him good at what he does"!

 

[JewelFreak]

It really isn't what makes him good at what he does, Sonny Jane. People do just as well who are respectful of subordinates & colleagues & treat everyone politely. What makes them both good is an eye for location, rehab costs, & profit potential. How they behave to others is a separate dept. in their personalities.

It always saddens me to hear rich people lumped into a "nasty" category. No more true than of the poor or the in-between (me). I know self-made wealthy folks who mentor others & who feel a major responsibility to give back in myriad ways. Ditto trust-funders.

I also know that big money does not insulate from insecurity, pain, grief, illness, all the usual rubbish, and it brings its own set of problems -- such as not being sure if "friends" hang around because they like you or hoping for bennies. That's a lifelong insecurity & often a heartbreaker.

Most people put down the rich as a group out of envy: can you imagine any of them refusing a lottery win or unexpected inheritance?

--- Laurie

 

[sonnyjane]

It really isn't what makes him good at what he does, Sonny Jane. People do just as well who are respectful of subordinates & colleagues & treat everyone politely. What makes them both good is an eye for location, rehab costs, & profit potential. How they behave to others is a separate dept. in their personalities.

It always saddens me to hear rich people lumped into a "nasty" category. No more true than of the poor or the in-between (me). I know self-made wealthy folks who mentor others & who feel a major responsibility to give back in myriad ways. Ditto trust-funders.

I also know that big money does not insulate from insecurity, pain, grief, illness, all the usual rubbish, and it brings its own set of problems -- such as not being sure if "friends" hang around because they like you or hoping for bennies. That's a lifelong insecurity & often a heartbreaker.

Most people put down the rich as a group out of envy: can you imagine any of them refusing a lottery win or unexpected inheritance?

--- Laurie

Ha. I had a conversation with my friend the other day. I told her if I ever win the Powerball, I'll give her a million bucks no questions asked. I told her that's the benefit of not having many friends lol! Nobody to feel obligated to later.

 

[kenny]

One person's rich is another person's poor.

 

[Niel]

to answer your original question. Comfortable, especially for my age group. Id be considered poor in sure in California or something like that. Would i like more money? Sure.

 

[madelise]

One person's rich is another person's poor.

Definitely. The people whom I think are uber loaded… don't feel that they are. They look at people who are richer than themselves, and feel poor.


The video was very interesting. I'd like to know how many subjects were included in this observation (not research, IMO). Definitely not randomized, since it was all done in one area. One city's people doesn't speak for all humans, with various ethnic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, generational differences, etc.

 

[LaraOnline]

Interesting video.
It would be very interesting to take that research out of the country, and see how attitudes varied (or not) internationally.
To the outsider (me) the video seemed to sum up a particularly US-type attitude, as capitalism is much more robustly embraced by the community as a whole in the US than in, say, Australia.

Over here the government, media and major slices of the community constantly emphasise taxation and transfers to the poorer members of society. Business, even small business, is quite marginalised in terms of public debate. Our right wing of politics is bashed as incredibly right wing by media and social pundits here, but would be positioned as quite left ('liberal') in the US....and our progressive / liberal side of politics - widely embraced by our own state media and huge sections of our society - would almost certainly be seen as totally 'off the chart' crazy-almost-outright-socialists, according to US society.

So it would be interesting to see if Australian rich people are just as 'pushy and entitled' as the researchers found the US rich to be, in spite of the rather continuous 'fairness' conditioning we receive socially and politically over here.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

The wealth effect has shown itself when CEO's come before Congress and lie their heads off. Enron, The tobacco companys, the car companies, the Pharma companies, each trying to hang on their fiefdom.

The study was not about the charcteristics of weathy people, but what wealth itself(money) does to people and how they begin to act. Even at a very liberal school, the students changed as they thought their wealth was increasing.

I have an acquaintance who inherited over a million dollars, maybe more). Shes an ordinary 50 yr old who hasn't worked since she was much younger. She has taken to traveling with this money, but she also has tantrus --get this-- over other peoples tantrums.
She went to Paris with a friend and her sister. They , the sisters, had a fight 3 days into the trip. The fight was between the sisters, but this acquaintance just announced she was leaving and going home. She called for a flight home and departed the trip .

She walks out if there is any friction going on. She helps me shopping and if my son is around and he says the wrong thing she leaves the store and waits in the car.

Do I think her behavior has to do with having money. I do. She doesn't have to put up with anything anymore. She has many wonderful qualities, but that one i.s a puzzle.


Annette

 

[LaraOnline]

Interesting that feeling 'rich' lets people feel that they can throw their weight around.

When I was at the Gold Coast (east coast of Australia) on a holiday with my family last year, we spent the last day of our hols at Wet and Wild (swimming fun park).

My five-year-old son had left his dry clothes in the car, so we towelled him down in the near-empty carpark and was in the process of pulling on his trousers, fresh buttoned shirt etc all ready for the airport.
A car drove past very slowly, and I became aware of two Arabic women dressed in full black burkas (no face covering) staring at me furiously.

Then they parked. (for Wet n Wild) By this time, we were almost buttoned up and putting on his shoes. The two women walked past extremely slowly, staring incredibly, then exchanged some words with each other. The disapproval, presumably of us dressing our small child in 'public' eminated from them like a cloud. It felt very wierd and incredibly invasive. (normal cultural practice here is to look away if you see something you don't like)

Then, their young son approached us, not to say hello, but to make a monkey dance a few metres from us! He hung behind to perform his dance while the adults continued on. Eventually, the adult women called, and he went to them. I watched to see if the parent disciplined the child over his rudeness, but nothing.

I related this to a friend of mine (very open-minded / modern Muslim girl) and she said they sounded Saudi, because of the money factor. I was linking it primarily to a cultural arrogance on their behalf, and tbh I still think it is, but now I'm thinking maybe she was right and their perception that they were moneyed allowed them to 'let it all hang out'!

 

[packrat]

Money, or lack thereof, highlights the type of person you are on the inside, I think. If you're a pushy and entitled person, this will be exaggerated whether you have money or not. If you don't have money and come into it by whatever means, and you're a pushy and entitled person on the inside, you'll be a pushy and entitled person who happens to now have a lot of money to throw around. There are people who don't have a pot to piss in and you'd never know it, if you met them on the street. There are people who have money coming out their ears and you'd never know it if you met them on the street. And it goes the other way too, people who will do everything short of having a neon sign over their heads that blinks "I'M RICH AND DO WHAT I WANT", and people who will sit in their house and collect their welfare and complain that they aren't given more for doing less. We play the "when we win the lottery" game--and none of it involves what we feel is what "the rich" do or have, that's just not who we are.

 

[LaraOnline]

Money, or lack thereof, highlights the type of person you are on the inside, I think. If you're a pushy and entitled person, this will be exaggerated whether you have money or not. If you don't have money and come into it by whatever means, and you're a pushy and entitled person on the inside, you'll be a pushy and entitled person who happens to now have a lot of money to throw around. There are people who don't have a pot to piss in and you'd never know it, if you met them on the street. There are people who have money coming out their ears and you'd never know it if you met them on the street. And it goes the other way too, people who will do everything short of having a neon sign over their heads that blinks "I'M RICH AND DO WHAT I WANT", and people who will sit in their house and collect their welfare and complain that they aren't given more for doing less. We play the "when we win the lottery" game--and none of it involves what we feel is what "the rich" do or have, that's just not who we are.

Maybe poorer people are more polite because there's a sense that survival depends on having other people helping you.

 

[JaneSmith]

http://www.upworthy.com/take-two-normal-people-add-money-to-just-one-of-them-and-watch-what-happens-next

I'm not surprised at the findings, just disappointed!

Do you consider yourself rich? Or poor? Or somewhere in between?

I can't watch the vid where I am right now, but I can answer your question.

Compared to the general population of my city, I'd consider myself comfortable. Certainly not poor, as we have food on the table, all the bills paid, and disposable income. Certainly not rich, because we don't live in a mansion or drive Ferrari's or wear designer clothes to Michelin starred restaurants.
When I was young, I would not have called myself poor, but retrospectively I'd say we were borderline poor. We had no extras, clothes were from thrift shops, bills sometimes caused worry and we grew a lot of our own food out of necessity.





A nice little visual glurge. On the one hand, a reminder to be happy with the good things I have, on the other hand a terrible downer to be reminded how many millions have it so bad.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Comfortable. As the husband says: "Way better than most, not as well of as a lot". I haven't had a paying job in over 5 years and hav pretty much given up the search because no-one wants to hire a 61 years old . And I've been to all "Classes" of places...just "we'll call" or "no thanks".

Mr. St. Clare is doing well, but he will be out in May 2014 and even with severance, pension, 401K, SS {for me} and medical, I don't know how our style of living will change.

 

[Dancing Fire]

All PSers are rich... look at the SMTB forum and tell me other wise...

 

[rosetta]

All PSers are rich... look at the SMTB forum and tell me other wise...

Good point DF. I actually agree with you.

 

[whosurdaddy]

Being wealthy is all relative.

I have seen the most down to earth million/billionaires as well as people who are pretentious and obnoxious. I can say that most of the people I know are not making nearly as much as they say or appear to be. Sadly, the fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality seems to be haunting my(and younger) generation.

As for the rude drivers, I have noticed that people who drive huge pick-up trucks or Suburbans are the worst. Many of them tailgate, speed and do not yield nor stop at the Stop sign for anyone. The luxury car drivers are actually acting the opposite in my town, being polite and following the rules.

My son is super friendly and polite and still gets bullied by kids from obvious low-income families at public places sometimes. I'd like to think being poor or rich has nothing to do with your attitude toward others, but your upbringing.

 

[Laila619]

I'd say solidly middle class--not wealthy but not poor. We get by on just one income, so we're not doing too badly I suppose.

 

[GliderPoss]

Interesting topic!

I grew up relatively poor - always fed, clothed & schooled but only due great sacrifice by my parents. Ditto my husband.

Hubby and I are now both stable and have good incomes so I consider ourselves positively RICH We don't live paycheck to paycheck anymore and actually have savings (gasp!). I am very happy and consider myself to be truely blessed with good health & family.

I do notice some weathy people have bad attitude - seems to me like it's mostly what I'd call "new money" not "old money" who do this. Some of the wealthiest people - you would never even know it. Just d*ckheads flashing new cash seem to have no sense of charity or decency...

 

[diamondringlover]

We are middle class, all our bills are paid on time, we have roof over out heads (even if it does need work on it), we have plenty of food and we have a little left over each month if nothing breaks down. However I do have a son that is 2 years out to college so that will change in the future as I will help him pay for some of his schooling as I did my oldest son..but for now as long as nothing breaksdown we are doing ok.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Just want to ask a question. Does anybody ever admit they are rich?. I haven't read it here. There are guidelines for income and wealth that determine whether you are rich. I think there are some on here who fit those guidelines but no-one says they are rich. The word comfortable does not mean rich.

Annette

 

[junebug17]

Hi,

Just want to ask a question. Does anybody ever admit they are rich?. I haven't read it here. There are guidelines for income and wealth that determine whether you are rich. I think there are some on here who fit those guidelines but no-one says they are rich. The word comfortable does not mean rich.

Annette

I agree Annette. It seems people these days who meet the criteria are embarrassed to admit they are rich. As if success is something to be ashamed of.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hi,

Just want to ask a question. Does anybody ever admit they are rich?. I haven't read it here. There are guidelines for income and wealth that determine whether you are rich. I think there are some on here who fit those guidelines but no-one says they are rich. The word comfortable does not mean rich.

Annette

I'll let you know when I reach that status...

 

[rosetta]

Hi,

Just want to ask a question. Does anybody ever admit they are rich?. I haven't read it here. There are guidelines for income and wealth that determine whether you are rich. I think there are some on here who fit those guidelines but no-one says they are rich. The word comfortable does not mean rich.

Annette

I'll let you know when I reach that status...

I'm sorry DF, but anyone who buys luxury watches like A Lange & Sohne is already rich!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hi,

Just want to ask a question. Does anybody ever admit they are rich?. I haven't read it here. There are guidelines for income and wealth that determine whether you are rich. I think there are some on here who fit those guidelines but no-one says they are rich. The word comfortable does not mean rich.

Annette

I'll let you know when I reach that status...

I'm sorry DF, but anyone who buys luxury watches like A Lange & Sohne is already rich!!

When I am rich i'll buy one of their $2.5 mil watch.