On the idiocy of all sorts of "MATERIAL wealth."

[Tyler Durden]

Say kids, how many of you out there have got plans for all that "wealth" you're stacking up all your life?

Do the words, "Can't take it with you..." ring any bells at all?
Do you think that there is a REASON why any speculative fiction other than Heinlein deals largely in a UTOPIAN, COOPERATIVE FUTURE, where money isn't exactly the ETERNAL COSMIC OM that it seems to be here?

Think there may be a REASON that EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY PAST CIVILIZATION that based its worth on wealth isn't around any more?

HINT, HINT, HINT????

[Inland]

1. And the punch line to the joke is

"And the lawyer said, 'Before they nailed the lid shut, I slipped in my personal check for the entire amount'".

[Tyler Durden]

2. I keep wondering where the rich think the money belt is on a corpse.

As my namesake says, with time the survival percentage of everyone goes to zero. Whether you're a rich atheist or a rich Baptist, you ain't taking ANY of it with you, so why are you bitching about tax cuts?

Pay your damned way and shut the fuck up.

[bleedingheart]

3. when my father died, my aunts put the following in his casket

a carton of cigarettes (pall mall unfiltered)- helped contribute to his death

a bottle of whiskey

a few lottery tickets (wouldn't it be a real hoot if they were winners)

and some money...

my mother just shook her head...

[Tyler Durden]

4. I always put in a "have a nice trip" card.

seems appropriate.

[SteppingRazor]

5. To paraphrase you, Tyler...

With time, the survival percentage of all societies goes to zero.

In other words, I don't think there's any causal link between societies based on the accumulation of wealth and the destruction of those societies.

Further, there have been reasons for amassing wealth, in this and every other society based even loosely on capitalist thought, even after the wealthy person in question has died. Inheritance is only the most obvious -- literal transition of wealth from one person to his/her children. But there's also the less quantifiable things -- familial status, for example. In any case, there are a whole host of reasons for accumulating wealth even to the point of death, though many of these are moot if the wealthy has no heirs.

[Tyler Durden]

6. Which one of those reasons is Karmically (to coin a word) valid?

"Wealth" or the amassing of weird little counters signifying some sort of odd "Value" has always seemed bizarre to me. Call me odd if you like.

By the way, the Aborigines of Australia don't seem to have much in the way of a traditional "Money" structure going for them, and until WE showed up, they'd kept it going for about 50,000 years.

All depends on how you define "Civilized."

Hey, one can worship money all they want as far as I'm concerned, as long as they QUIT BITCHING ABOUT PAYING THEIR RIGHTFUL WAY.

[SteppingRazor]

8. Does it have to be karmically valid if you don't believe in Karma?

I don't think there's someone tending the light at the end of the tunnel, and while I hate to be in the same boat with the greedheads, I imagine most of them probably agree with me.

And as for aboriginal civilization, my own definition of civilization at least includes air conditioning :evilgrin:

However, I do think that everyone should be paying into the system, and I support a heavily progressive income tax system, in which the wealthiest pay a farr greater percentage of their income than the middle class, who in turn pay more than the poor, the poorest of whom pay nothing at all.

[Tyler Durden]

10. Then we're in the same boat...

I have absolutely no problem with rich people until they start whining about "paying their 'fair share'" or Flat Tax or some other such garbage.

Heat pumps and water wells do a GREAT job on geothermal air conditioning without refrigerants, by the way. You can even use the system to heat your pool.

[lukasahero]

7. Well there's always "leaving my children more than I had"... eom

[Tyler Durden]

12. So pay for their college....

...throw them a car and a house down payment and say "Have a nice Life."

It's more than 99% of the world's kids get on their way out the door.

[trekbiker]

9. not taking it with me... but not forced to work after 50 either..

[Tyler Durden]

11. When 90+% of the value is controlled by

less than 1% of the citizens, It kind of screws up that idea.

But slush it around a little better, and you've got a plan that EVERYONE can play with.