What Is "Greed"?

[bripat9643]

Liberal politicians should decide for the folks when their basic needs are met and confiscate the rest.......................for the people

Politicians are the only ones qualified to define greed, and it always means more money for parasites.

 

[MikeK]

When a rational person is satisfied he/she leaves the table and makes room for another. Greed means never being satisfied. It is unconstrained gluttony.

No more complicated definition is needed.

 

[Misty]

The most greedy element throughout the world is government.

 

[The Rabbi]

The OWS movement rails about "greed", like we can outlaw an emotion.
But what is greed? Is someone who works hard because he wants to get ahead greedy? I don't think anyone would say so.
It seems greed is wanting money that legitimately doesn't belong to you. I can be as greedy as I want, but unless someone gives me money voluntarily then it doesn't do much. If I deceive someone, then I am a criminal. But if I deliver on what I've promised then I've earned my money.
By that definition the OWS crowd are the greedy ones. They demand their student loans get paid off, yet they've done nothing to deserve that. They demand--well, I dont know what they want. Neither do they. But demanding someone else's money is greed.

Briefly stated, greed is the mental condition in which the concept of having enough is totally obscure. Ambition is one thing, greed is quite another.

Catholicism regards greed as a sin. Many behaviorists regard it as a mental disorder. A psychologically normal, spiritually moral individual is acutely aware of what greed is and has no need to pose philosophical questions about it.

Who are you to decide what is "enough"? Not everyone thinks living in a single wide in a trailer park with a '92 Bonneville out back is enough, unlike you.
For some people it isn't enough to have 3 vacation homes in the US and 2 in Europe. And maybe they really need all that. It isn't for me per se but that's only my feeling on it. If someone can afford that and wants to work hard so he can have it, more power to him.

 

[Mr.Nick]

The OWS movement rails about "greed", like we can outlaw an emotion.
But what is greed? Is someone who works hard because he wants to get ahead greedy? I don't think anyone would say so.
It seems greed is wanting money that legitimately doesn't belong to you. I can be as greedy as I want, but unless someone gives me money voluntarily then it doesn't do much. If I deceive someone, then I am a criminal. But if I deliver on what I've promised then I've earned my money.
By that definition the OWS crowd are the greedy ones. They demand their student loans get paid off, yet they've done nothing to deserve that. They demand--well, I dont know what they want. Neither do they. But demanding someone else's money is greed.

I've been saying this forever.

Greed is the idea you're entitled to something for nothing - and that is exactly the position and mentality of OWS and the strong majority of progressives....

As usual progressives are exactly what they accuse their opposition of "being."

It's almost Freudian...

 

[Mr.Nick]

When a rational person is satisfied he/she leaves the table and makes room for another. Greed means never being satisfied. It is unconstrained gluttony.

No more complicated definition is needed.

So an individual that owns a lucrative and successful business should just shut it down when they have accumulated X amount of profits?????

How does that work in an allegedly free country???

Not to mention the majority of wealthy individuals have lost more money in different ventures than they presently have on hand.

For example if you lose a million in 2010 but gain a million in 2011 - you're really just breaking even despite the fact you physically have a million on hand (which some people would call wealthy).

 

[The Rabbi]

Whatever progressives say about conservatives is true. But it is true about progressives, not conservatives.
Maybe it is some kind of self realization that they cannot be all that bad so attribute those characteristics to someone else.

 

[Staidhup]

The wealthy whine about tax increases, yet the 1990s with the Clinton era tax rates had the best result between Federal taxing & spending. There was a "surplus".

It's apparent some people don't quit understand what a bubble economy is all about. The surplus was created by pure bull shit, hype, pump and dump, spin, nothing more then a ponzi scheme based on hot air, and those that got out, paid taxes, and those that remained and employees got screwed. They then created a new bubble economy, housing!

 

[bripat9643]

When a rational person is satisfied he/she leaves the table and makes room for another. Greed means never being satisfied. It is unconstrained gluttony.

No more complicated definition is needed.

A basic fact of economics is that human wants are unlimited. You may "know" what is enough for another, but no one ever turns down more money for themselves.

You have simply defined "greed" to be the fundamental state of all mankind.

 

[Mr.Nick]

Whatever progressives say about conservatives is true. But it is true about progressives, not conservatives.
Maybe it is some kind of self realization that they cannot be all that bad so attribute those characteristics to someone else.

I think progressives are hyper emotional and selfish...

If progressives put the same amount of energy they use to hate the rich they would be rich..

I mean it's not like there is a set X amount of wealth in the US and the rich possess 90%. It's not like the more the rich have the less said progressive has.... But many do think that way, and its nothing more than ignorant and irrational.

Honestly, I could care less how much wealth another individual possesses. I'm focused on generating wealth for myself.

 

[Staidhup]

Greed is simply wanting to retain and spend what the sweat rolling downs one's back provided.

 

[bripat9643]

Greed is simply wanting to retain and spend what the sweat rolling downs one's back provided.

That isn't greed, that's just plain common sense. Of course, liberals are trying to redefine rational self interest as something evil. It's a scheme to separate you from your money. They want you to believe it's evil to keep what you've earned. I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to believe that government is more entitled to their money than they themselves are, but that's the logic that these bootlicking Stalinist liberal toadies are asking you to swallow.

 

[The T]

Greed is simply wanting to retain and spend what the sweat rolling downs one's back provided.

No greed is wanting MORE than what you earned...and you don't care how you get what the other guy has. It's I got mine and I want YOURS.

 

[MikeK]

Who are you to decide what is "enough"? Not everyone thinks living in a single wide in a trailer park with a '92 Bonneville out back is enough, unlike you.
For some people it isn't enough to have 3 vacation homes in the US and 2 in Europe. And maybe they really need all that. It isn't for me per se but that's only my feeling on it. If someone can afford that and wants to work hard so he can have it, more power to him.

You obviously have been indoctrinated by the right-wing propaganda machine and I would wager Limbaugh and Hannity have significantly influenced your thinking.

I should say I have absolutely no problem with wealth, but excessive wealth is destructive in two very important ways. (1) It is disruptive to economic balance and equitable distribution of the Nation's material resources, and (2) it represents a serious threat to political integrity -- as is plainly manifest in the Citizens United ruling.

While "hard work" when combined with good luck and opportunity can result in the accumulation of reasonable wealth, the typical reward for a lifetime of hard work -- as it is known to most Americans, is blisters and a bad back. What you need to understand is no amount of hard work is capable of producing the kind of exceptional wealth you seem to think is as simple and as innocent as owning a successful pizza shop. The fact is it is impossible to accumulate the kind of mega-million and billion dollar fortunes presently controlled by the smallest segment of American society. This kind of money cannot be accumulated without considerable exploitation, manipulation, scheming, and in many examples, criminal maneuvering.

If you'd like to educate yourself a bit I strongly recommend you check your local TV listings for times to watch CNBC's excellent and ongoing series called American Greed, which is an endless progression of superb documentary reports on the outright criminal means by which many fortunes are accumulated in modern America. It's very interesting -- and you will learn something important.

 

[The Rabbi]

I'd check your skull by a psychiatrist.

Hard work in itself is not sufficient. But if you think Jack Welch didnt work hard at GE you're kidding yourself. If you think lawyers making 10M/year dont work hard, you haven't been around many.
Again you cannot define what "excessive" means except by your own experience. And that dictates that buying Michelob instead of Busch is excessive.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Dictionary.com

 

[MikeK]

When a rational person is satisfied he/she leaves the table and makes room for another. Greed means never being satisfied. It is unconstrained gluttony.

No more complicated definition is needed.

So an individual that owns a lucrative and successful business should just shut it down when they have accumulated X amount of profits?????

[...]

Let's begin by assigning a number to X.

I believe the future and integrity of America would be ensured and the general quality of American society would be vastly improved if the IRS would confiscate all personal assets in excess of twenty million dollars, a level of wealth which should satisfy the material needs of any rational individual. But that does not mean a lucrative and successful business must be shut down, because a business which is capable of generating sufficient revenue to provide its principal with a twenty million dollar fortune can easily be sold or transferred. In fact there are brokers who specialize in such dispositions.

The objective of such an economic policy would be transition from a system of vertical distribution of the Nation's wealth resources to horizontal distribution. A good analogy would be distribution of 150 one-million-dollar prizes rather than one $150million "superball" lottery prize.

How do you suppose such a policy would affect your life?

Do you believe you have the ambition and the ability to accumulate a twenty million dollar fortune?

If you did manage to acquire that much money would you be content with the kind of luxury and security it could provide? If not, why not?

 

[The T]

When a rational person is satisfied he/she leaves the table and makes room for another. Greed means never being satisfied. It is unconstrained gluttony.

No more complicated definition is needed.

So an individual that owns a lucrative and successful business should just shut it down when they have accumulated X amount of profits?????

[...]

Let's begin by assigning a number to X.

I believe the future and integrity of America would be ensured and the general quality of American society would be vastly improved if the IRS would confiscate all personal assets in excess of twenty million dollars, a level of wealth which should satisfy the material needs of any rational individual. But that does not mean a lucrative and successful business must be shut down, because a business which is capable of generating sufficient revenue to provide its principal with a twenty million dollar fortune can easily be sold or transferred. In fact there are brokers who specialize in such dispositions.

The objective of such an economic policy would be transition from a system of vertical distribution of the Nation's wealth resources to horizontal distribution. A good analogy would be distribution of 150 one-million-dollar prizes rather than one $150million "superball" lottery prize.

How do you suppose such a policy would affect your life?

Do you believe you have the ambition and the ability to accumulate a twenty million dollar fortune?

If you did manage to acquire that much money would you be content with the kind of luxury and security it could provide? If not, why not?

Why assholes like YOU fail...Assume NOTHING

 

[Clementine]

Occupooper Wall Street organizer, Harrison Schultzon, was on a radio show making the usual lame demands of the tax payers and the host offered to help find him a job. Harrison said he'd only take a job starting at $80,000 or more a year. Who do these folks think they are? None of them realize that people usually start off working entry level, minimum wage jobs and worked their way up. These guys either want things handed to them or to get a big paying, no labor job. That is being greedy and lazy.

 

[The Rabbi]

So an individual that owns a lucrative and successful business should just shut it down when they have accumulated X amount of profits?????

[...]

Let's begin by assigning a number to X.

I believe the future and integrity of America would be ensured and the general quality of American society would be vastly improved if the IRS would confiscate all personal assets in excess of twenty million dollars, a level of wealth which should satisfy the material needs of any rational individual. But that does not mean a lucrative and successful business must be shut down, because a business which is capable of generating sufficient revenue to provide its principal with a twenty million dollar fortune can easily be sold or transferred. In fact there are brokers who specialize in such dispositions.

The objective of such an economic policy would be transition from a system of vertical distribution of the Nation's wealth resources to horizontal distribution. A good analogy would be distribution of 150 one-million-dollar prizes rather than one $150million "superball" lottery prize.

How do you suppose such a policy would affect your life?

Do you believe you have the ambition and the ability to accumulate a twenty million dollar fortune?

If you did manage to acquire that much money would you be content with the kind of luxury and security it could provide? If not, why not?

Why assholes like YOU fail...Assume NOTHING

If the gov't confiscated all personal assets in excess of $20M (what an arbitrary number!) then you wouldn't have foundations like Ford and Gates, and all the good they do.