Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#311

Post by hueving » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 9:14 PM UTC

IllusoryReverb wrote: post #58

I have had the sense that guilt plays a part in dissatisfaction with wealth, whether consciously or subconsciously. The way the economic system is set up, a person can only have money, wealth at the expense of others. I only have what I have because someone else has been deprived of it. Its difficult to enjoy something when at the back of ones mind, it is earned off the suffering (real or imagined) of others. I came…

Economies aren't zero sum.

Fractional reserve banking means your 100 dollar example is wrong.

Additionally, someone who truly provides net positive social utility will improve the average persons life even if they make a bunch of money that was going to be spent elsewhere.

People spending money on magic cures for lung cancer from Phillip Morris is vastly different than people buying cigarettes from them, even if they are the same price.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#312

Post by hueving » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 9:23 PM UTC

kaybe wrote: post #140

hueving wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FFS that $10m figure isn't about being comfortable. It's about never having to work again and never having to be concerned about paying for things in an upper middle class lifestyle. You might be happy as a PhD student, but your housing and life is entirely dependent on the university. You are one academic violation away from that all being in jeopardy. What happens if you get a spouse and child? Will your current ho…

Y'know, that's what I like about the European social security systems (not all of them of course, but some). It's just that, security. You can be sure you will have healthcare, you will have housing and you will have food, and so will all your dependents. (Ah and of course you will have to fill out a lot of papers and they will bug you to find a job, and your level of living will be at university student level, but s…

>It's just that, security. You can be sure you will have healthcare, you will have housing and you will have food, and so will all your dependents.

That's certainly better security, but it's still nowhere near the level I'm talking about. You're still having to concern yourself with money for things like smartphones, entertainment, holidays, etc. and you're one government crisis away from austerity taking a big chunk of that away. Also, keep in mind that there are still people alive who witnessed WW2. You can't take the stability of your country as a given.

The $10m number puts you in the position to even diversify away risks to your home country.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#313

Post by hueving » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 9:30 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #142

hueving wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bear Stearns employee comp is solely about the value the employees provide to the firm. The ones making that kind of money would easily be bringing in a multiple of that in sales, etc. Just because the company got wiped out by a black swan style event means nothing about whether their employees were providing a lot of value to the firm.

No, it clearly demonstrates that these employees where not creating that much value at the firm. Progressive betting strategies for example can appear to work in the short term, but anyone executing them is destroying value.

Janitors were providing value whether or not Bear's long exposure to MBSs were too large.

The same applies to traders, etc.

My dentist fixing my toothache still provided value to me even if I die of a massive heart attack in two months.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#314

Post by rapind » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 9:40 PM UTC

andrepd wrote: post #222

simonh wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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Don't forget exploiting future generations at home and abroad. It'll be the ultimate irony if we become extinct due to our own greed.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#315

Post by mrkstu » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 9:48 PM UTC

antocv wrote: post #204

simonh wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#316

Post by Ws32ok » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

andrepd wrote: post #222

simonh wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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I'm not sure you can call what is in Central America actual functioning capitalism. A random individual in that area can't easily raise capital and start a business. They are subject to extreme levels of crime and cronyism. A lot of Central America is more like a set of fiefdoms with a king rather than what would reasonably be called some kind of western capitalism.

Consider your favourite successful startup and move it to Central America. Now consider what additional factors it needs to take in to simply operate. Take security as an example: Private guards acting with high aggression (machine guns) are a basic requirement in some areas. Compare that to New York (Hand gun).

It's not a reasonable comparison.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#317

Post by jcelerier » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 10:08 PM UTC

Fargren wrote: post #171

jcelerier wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am happy to say I'm at a point in my life where I feel I will never have to worry about finances, if you weren't worrying about finances at some level why are you going to work today instead of going on holidays in a nice spot ? could you handle, say, your house burning overnight with all your belongings ? Never means never , not "comfortable enough to turn a blind eye to the potential problems that may come some…

>if you weren't worrying about finances at some level why are you going to work today instead of going on holidays in a nice spot ? I care about my finances. But I don't worry about them. I have a high degree of certainty that, barring getting a disease that prevents me from working for multiple years, I won't have major financial problems for the rest of my life. The fact that I live in a country with good public he…

> I care about my finances. But I don't worry about them.

I don't see any distinction between "caring" and "worrying" in this context: "worrying" means "thinking about it". When people say "without having to worry about finances again" it must be understood as "don't even want to think about their account balance ever in their whole life".

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#318

Post by AnimalMuppet » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 10:10 PM UTC

slededit wrote: post #65

hprotagonist wrote: post #3

I’m immediately reminded of the denouement of “This is Water”: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PhhC_N6Bm_s . It’s become/ perhaps always has been a little trite or on the nose, but it’s also not wrong. If you worship money and things-if they are where you tap real meaning in life-then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will…

It’s a nice thought, and gives a sense the world is fair. But it doesn’t ring true to me. Some people are hot, and they know it. They do not feel ugly. Ditto for intelligence.

I have a sense that people who are hot know it, but they also know they're not.

If you're the hottest out of 10, you know someone who's the hottest out of 100. They know someone who's the hottest out of 1000, and they know someone who's the hottest out of a million. And even they look at others like themselves, and think "She has a better smile than me... she has better hair... she's thinner..."

If your identity is in your hotness, you can't win. You can only lose.

Disclaimer: I'm not hot. I'm not close. This is my impression, not my experience.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#319

Post by mywittyname » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 10:27 PM UTC

tryptophan wrote: post #13

One comment I read somewhere is that with increasing wealth you lose the ability to make sense of the numbers anymore. What is the difference between 50 and 100 million in an emotional sense? The fear of losing it all, however, stays the same no matter the amount, and so the urge to keep accumulating doesn't go away despite a rational view that would recognize that 100million is more than enough.

I bet wealth liquidity scales super-linearly with net worth. A $50-millionaire likely has maybe $500k in cash, $2-5MM in liquid investments, and another $2-5MM in semi-liquid assets, like real-estate. While a $100-millionaire probably has like $2MM in cash, $10-20MM in liquid investments, and $10MM in real-estate.

Because of this, the amount these two can borrow is staggeringly different.

Re: Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

#320

Post by undersuit » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 10:29 PM UTC

Ws32ok wrote: post #316

andrepd wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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I'm not sure you can call what is in Central America actual functioning capitalism. A random individual in that area can't easily raise capital and start a business. They are subject to extreme levels of crime and cronyism. A lot of Central America is more like a set of fiefdoms with a king rather than what would reasonably be called some kind of western capitalism. Consider your favourite successful startup and move…

>I'm not sure you can call what is in Central America actual functioning capitalism.

You're missing the point. The United State's functioning capitalism is a major cause of your hesitancy to call Central America's countries functioning capitalistic societies.