Money Madness.docx

Money Madness.docx

《Money Madness.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Money Madness.docx（8页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

MoneyMadness

Pre-ReadingActivities

1.Doyoubelievethat“moneytalks”?

2.Manypeoplearoundusarestrivingincessantlyformoney?

Whatsymptomscanbefoundaboutthismoneymania?

3.Paycloseattentiontowords,phrases,sentences,images,metaphors,idioms,figuresofspeechetc.–inshort,thekindoflanguagethewriteruses.

4.Readthetext.Asyouread,trytoguessthemeaningoftheboldfacedwordsfromthesurroundingwordsandsentences.

TEXT

MoneyMadness

ByRalphHyatt

Wordcount:

1747

Thepersistentpopularityoftheantiquatedjokewhereinonepersonremarks,“moneyistherootofallevil,andhisfriendresponds,”“Iknow,I’vebeenrootingforitallmylife”isatestimonytotheambivalencesandconflictsgeneratedbymoneyinoursociety.Dow-Jonesaverages,taxshelters,investmentopportunities,andthelikemakethefrontpagesofournewspapers,respectedmagazines,andjournals.Get-richbooksmakethebest-sellerlistsand“sweepstake”mailingsbombardusregularly.Casinos,lotteries,thestockmarket—allgovernment-supportedand–regulated—transmittheideathattoownamilliondollarsiswonderful,afantasticachievement.Thus,peoplestriveaggressivelyfortheaccumulationofwealthinordertoreachthepromisedgoalsofserenityandhappiness.Thefantasyof“miracles”whichiscreatedbyafatbankaccount,however,fadesintheshadowsofdisappointmentsandfrustrationsonceitisobtained.Thosewhospendalifetimestrugglingunsuccessfullyforgreen,silver,andgoldusuallydieindepressionanddespair.Power,travel,externalsecurity,freetime,andotherblessingsarepotentiallyavailabletotheaffluent.Theblessings,unfortunately,areoftenmixed.

Thevaluesofoursocietyandsimilaronesinmattersofmoneyandwealthareperfectlyclear.Richmenareseenascapableandwise.Tevya,in“FiddlerontheRoof,”singsitpowerfully:

“Whenyou’rerichtheyreallythinkyouknow.”Richnessmeanssuccess,andwearesuccess-oriented.Religiousgroupsandthosewhoelevatethestatusofpovertyastheyequatemoneywithevilexhortustolivesimply,towalkthestraightandnarrow,andtodenytheflesh.Nevertheless,ittakeslittleperceptualacuitytoobservethatthewealthyaregivenhighpositionsinchurchesandsynagogues,arecontinuallyfetedatreligiouslysupportedaffairs,andbecomethemodelsforyoungchurchgoers.Mixedmessagesaredangerous;psychologistsgenerallyagreethattheysetthestageforschizophrenia.

Thosewhoarebornintoabsolutepovertyandaredestinedtoliveinittypicallyhaveaneasiertimewiththemoneyissue.Theylearnearlynottoexpectwealthandsoavoidwastingemotionsonsuchaspirations.Theybecomeamotivationalinthisregard.Some,ontheotherhand,determinetobreakoutoftheirfetteredstatusandrelentlesslystrivefortheirshareofthegold.Generally,theyarebright,veryambitious,andfollowfellowmodelsofsuccess.Theydevelopskills,becomeknowledgeable,developexpertise,andworkveryhard.

Afewofthemmakeit,butfrequentlyatgreatexpense.Daysandnightsarespentincreatingideas,implementingplansandworkingalltheshifts.Limitedcashflowforrentals,purchaseofequipmentandinventory,employeessalaries,andotherexpensestestthephysicalandemotionalstaminaofeventheverystrong.Auniqueideaaccompaniedbyefficiencyandgoodfortunedoesindeedmakethemoneygoalreachable.Moreoften,thereisawashoutbecauseofphysical,emotional,andeconomicdeficits.Manyfinebusinessideasgodownthedraininthisway.Inthemeantime,family,friends,andhealthareflusheddownaswell.

Theseoverdeterminedentrepreneursgiveeverythingtheyhaveinthepursuitoftheirgoalsandfrequentlyenduptrulygivingeverything.Theyheavealloftheirpossessionsintothehopperandmakecrushingcontributionsofselfinthebattleformaterialvictory.Theythrashaboutinthenetsocietyeuphemisticallytermsworkaholic,type-A,success-oriented,orexcellentprovider.Intheprocess,controlandpowertransfersfromthemtothegoalitself.Meansandendsareintotaldisarray.Thinking,acting,andfeelingarenolongerindependentofthemoneymotive.Thevictim’sjustificationforlivingismoneyandallitcanbuy.Theselfandallofitspotentialrichnessislost.

Contrarytoexpectation,thewealthyareluredintothemoneynetjustasreadily—perhapsmoreso—asothers.Thebaitishabit,insecurity,competitiveness,powercontrol,andgreed.Withallthehypeforeveryonetosaveevenadollaratatime,ittakesgreatdisciplineforthosewithsmallfixedincomestopulldollarsfromameagersalary,toplaceintoasavingsaccountwhichgrowseversoslowly.Reinforcementsareweak.

Thewealthy,ontheotherhand,haveadifferent“problem”—theirmoneyaccountsgrowsosteadilyandsignificantlythatthehabiteasilybecomesfirmlyimprinted.Moneymakesmoneysothatreinforcementsarepowerful;infact,itbecomesdifficulttospendmoney.Whatfrequentlyoccursisinconsistentspendingpatterns.Greatexpendituresaremadeforvacations,restaurants,andclothingwhilethereisexcessivethriftinessingaspurchases,tippingwaiters,bargain-hunting,andothersmall-savingoutlets.

Forthosewhoareself-employedsuchasphysiciansandattorneys,anotherdeep,fascinatingdilemmaappears.Whentheyarenotworking,thereisnoincome.Aholiday,therefore,becomesaveryexpensiveexperience.Forexample,anattorneywithagrossannualincomeof$100,000,earning$2,000weekly（andinthe50%taxbracket）,isinapositionwhereavacationbecomestoocostly.Overandabovehisregularvacationexpenses,hemustaddanadditional$2,000eachweek!

Manywealthyprofessionalshavenotplannedavacationinyears.Othersdonotstrayfarfromtheirofficesandworkseveralheavydaystocompensatefortimeawayfromtheirpractices.Themoneynetstranglesthemastheystrugglenottoloseincome.

Moneyconversationsofthewealthyareintriguing.Acommonquestionamongthemis:

“HowmuchdoIneedtofeelsecure?

”Theyaretalkingabouthowmanymillionstheyrequireformentaltranquility.Thisattitudeisprominentamongthosewhohavemadeitfromapoorchildhood.Thatqualityofneuroticreasoningandunbalancedemotionsneuroticmeaningtremendouslyexaggeratedfeelingscombinedwithinsatiabilityinsuresthattherearedeep-seatedinadequacyfeelings.Thesepeopleseldomgetover“what-if”concerns;What-ifinflationgoesthroughtheroof?

etc.,etc.Theymustalwayshavemoreandmoretoprotectagainstthepossibilityofhavinglessandless.Ofcourse,thereareneverenoughsafeguardsasfarastheyareconcerned.

Thesimplepsychologicalrulefordevelopinginadequacyfeelingsisthatitisengenderedbyaspirationswhicharetoohigh.Awealthymanvyingwithawealthiermanisinanexcellentpositionforselfnegatingemotions;thiswouldnothappen,ofcourse,ifhecompetedwithapoorperson.Compoundinginsecurityfeelingsisstiffcompetitionbypeers—perhapsthegoadingofyounger,successfulmemberswhoarepartoftheirsocialenvironment.“HowmuchdidyouinvestthisweekinIBMstock?

”isnotanuncommoncompetitivequestion.

Abraggartwhorelateshisvacationplans,stockmarketexcursions,orthenumberofrecentmoneyseminarsheattendedconsciouslyandunconsciouslygratesandmanipulatesthefeelingsofarichdetermined-inadequateperson.Moreeffortandgreaterincomearerequiredbythelatterto“showupthebigmouth.”One-upmanshipistypical.Justknowingthatanacquaintance’sfirmhasgainedonequarterpointinthestockmarket,makingforapapergainofseveralmilliondollars,increasesthebloodpressureofaninadequate-feelingcompetitorandresultsinlongerworkdaysofharderwork.The“game”istheretobeplayedandtobewon.Amoney-gamelossfurthererodestheesteemofself.

Still,noonecandenythepowerandcontrol（overfamilyandfriends,politics,socialevents）whichmoneybuys.Oursocietylaudsmoney-power,andmostweakersoulsbendtotheadvantagesofpower-by-association.Beingunwealthy,thenextbestmethodofacquiringmoney-poweristobefriendonewhohasit.Wine,womenandsongareinthefantasiesofmultitudes,recognitionandapplauseinthedreamsofmostothers.Indirectlybyassociation,moneymakesreachingsuchgoalspossible.“Groupies”forthewealthyarecommonplace.

Eveniftherewerenootherreasonthantheconceptofhoardingtoexplaintheaccumulationormoney,thatwouldbeastrongenoughmotivetoexplainthismagneticphenomenon.Freudianswouldprobablyobserveaspartofman’spsycho-sexualdevelopmentthepowerfulanalneedtogathermoreandmoregreenbacksfortheirownsake;itpervadesoursocialgroup.Wecollectstamps,coins,art,andalsomoney.Thegleeoffeedinganobesebankaccountandthehyperexcitementofcallingthestockbrokertohearhismonotonousvoicetellofprofit-making—andthelackofsensitivityinsavingadollarhereandthereattheexpenseofothers—servethestrongbasemotiveofpuregreed.

Money,itsaccumulation,anditseffectsonlifepatternscannotbeunderstoodmeaningfullyoutsideofone’sgeneralvaluesystemandlife-philosophy.Surely,itcanbeanextremelyimportantvariableinone’slife,butitneednotbe.Itcanbecontrolledoritmaystrangleitsvictimunmercifully.Moneyinitsownrightisneithergoodnorbad.Whatitisorbecomesispurelytheresultofhumanchoice.

Therearepracticalthingstodoinordertoplacemoneyinproperperspective.First,listallimportantvaluessuchasthemeaningoffreetime,family,friends,socialization,etc.Donotforgetreligiousbeliefsandtheirbasicphilosophyaboutmaterialism,money,andpoverty.Second,place