The Taste of Money

Don't eat money. I won't talk about why. When I was a kid I could accidentally do magic. I could put a penny in my mouth, suck on it, and turn it into a dime. I didn't do it very much. I didn't realize it was really special. And, thankfully, I was instructed not to put money in my mouth. It is not healthy. When I tell this story people cringe. I hope you are not cringing.

Yesterday we did our taxes and got that pleasant surprise of some money back. Of course it's already our own money, but the pleasantness is still pleasant.

Poverty affects more people on this globe than it doesn't. Economically, since even the fattest of us fears it, humans continually strive for more. Even the most philanthropic, the Bill and Melinda Gates' of the world, still achieve heights of wealth that are literally incomprehensible to a majority of the planet before topping out and giving back. Almost all of the philanthropy in the world is by people who are still earning more than they give. That is, their net worth is still increasing. (Over the last decade or so Ellison and the Gates' and many others are really and truly retiring into their philanthropy and giving more than they are getting from investment. Hopefully this will continue and amplify. It could be a real lever in equalizing the differentiation between the rich and poor.)

Instinctively, people with access to modern society strive for a level of wealth that will provide a certain level of comfort. People will wish for alleviation of hunger, safety from random criminality, shelter from the environment, and enough leisure time to relax and have relationships. The last one in general is a necessity, because mental health is still needed for survival. This should cost about $10,000 a year. (See this article in Mother Jones.) After that, it's all gravy, and one's foci should be the same as Bill and Melinda's: happiness, and goodwill.

Now we just need to get people to start at our lower number, instead of $1 billion.