tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337320937495574070.post3135770170962620477..comments2010-03-17T15:59:04.505-07:00Comments on leftie writes: Money Talkskellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03294157339505432388noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337320937495574070.post-74685896793378893962008-04-29T07:31:00.000-07:002008-04-29T07:31:00.000-07:00I think people earning money don't necessarily rea...I think people earning money don't necessarily realize they are even trying to justify anything, but subconsciously that is what they are doing. What I mean is, I think in conversations when finances come up, people earning a lot of money bring the conversation around to possessions or travel or property ownership to distract themselves from the fact that their vocation is less interesting, less meaningful, and less fulfilling then perhaps they expected, or where promised by the previous generation. <BR/><BR/>I think you are right that our parents and teachers and elders imputed onto us a sense of self worth independent of wealth, but along with that was this promise that we were special and could change the world. For some people I think the collection of possessions and the amassing of wealth is a substitute for the fact that they are not going to change the world and talking about those things instead provides a justification for otherwise unfulfilled aspirations.Ian MacAllenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01807173112396557445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337320937495574070.post-3428231501219002112008-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:002008-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:00I agree: think it is becoming a status symbol to b...I agree: think it is becoming a status symbol to be artificially poor... <BR/><BR/>I guess I just don't have a lot of friends making big bucks (and if they are, they certainly are not apologizing for it... or talking about it). But the few corporate lawyer friends I have justify their jobs, as you said, by claiming the price is right and they need to pay of their loans. Maybe it is guilt driving them, and maybe they are afraid to face the simple truth that they just like the comfort, security, and high that comes with a big paycheck. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for reading & commenting ;-)kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03294157339505432388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337320937495574070.post-7736114260989736712008-04-28T07:04:00.000-07:002008-04-28T07:04:00.000-07:00I think you have overlooked another reason we talk...I think you have overlooked another reason we talk about money: guilt. I think a lot of people talk about their earnings to justify their current vocation. For big money earners, I think people talk about the money they are earning because they feel guilty about "selling out," as though they can justify doing evil because the price is right.<BR/><BR/>On the other side of the spectrum, I think low wage earners talk about their finances to add legitimacy to themselves, that artificial poverty (over educated, upper middle class suburban kids are not genuinely poor) is as much a status symbol today as the import car and McMansion was to our parents. It is as though an entire generation is proclaiming "I am better than you because I earn less money."Ian MacAllenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01807173112396557445noreply@blogger.com