Thought For The Day

[kerravonsen]

A surprising number of my thinky thoughts get prompted by what comes up on my randomplay (which at the moment is a mix of soundtracks and instrumentals).
This time it was "If I Were A Rich Man". Just one line this time:

I wouldn't have to work hard.

Yes, he would, actually. He'd have to work hard at being rich man. Oh, it wouldn't be back-breaking labour... but rich men tend to be obsessed with being rich. It takes all their mental energy. After all, that's how they got to be rich in the first place.

And if riches are what one values most, then there is no such thing as "rich enough". It never ends. It never satisfies.

Comments

[tree_and_leaf]

rich men tend to be obsessed with being rich. It takes all their mental energy

Well, that's probably one of the reasons why Tevye isn't rich - but I think it's worth noting that his ambitions are relatively modest. He wants to be rich in small-town terms - he's not fantasising about having the wealth of the Tsar, he wants a big house that will win him respect, some servants, and time to study Torah. I suspect he wouldn't have changed all that much had a rich and hitherto unknown relative left him a small fortune (though I think he would have got sick of his wife screaming at the servants quite quickly!)

[watervole]

It would be possible to inherit riches and just lie back and enjoy them.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

What about those who inherit their wealth or those who win the lottery? They didn't have to work hard to become rich and there are plenty of instances of such people being idle and squandering their money.

If you have "thinky thoughts" do you also have unthinky thoughts and what are they like? :)

[kerravonsen]

Unthinky thoughts are the normal boring ones.

What about those who inherit their wealth or those who win the lottery? They didn't have to work hard to become rich and there are plenty of instances of such people being idle and squandering their money.

Which just proves my point, really: a rich man who stays rich has to work at it.

[bktheirregular]

The song is Tevye's fantasy of what it would be like if he were a wealthy man (look at what else he imagines he would do if he had a small fortune). Of course, Tevye isn't always as wise as he thinks he is...

[dreamflower]

I've always imagined that song as being the sort of daydreaming most of us indulge in occasionally when we think of winning a lottery or Publishers Clearing House. We know it will probably never happen, and if it did, you are right--there'd be a lot of work, figuring out taxes, paying off debt, deciding the best way to ensure the future. But it's kind of fun to imagine being able to shower people with gifts, buying a dream home, giving a $1,000 tip, etc.

It has always been a puzzle to me why the super-rich (as in billionaires) are so compelled to keep on getting more and more; after you reach a certain level of wealth, you are never going to need MORE! I don't understand it, honestly.

[kerravonsen]

It has always been a puzzle to me why the super-rich (as in billionaires) are so compelled to keep on getting more and more; after you reach a certain level of wealth, you are never going to need MORE! I don't understand it, honestly.

It is, indeed, a puzzlement. Such people don't seem to have a measurement for "rich enough". It's a bit like that disease where someone's hunger signal is always switched on: no matter how much they eat, they still feel as if they're starving, even if their stomach explodes.
Or perhaps it's that they don't know how to do anything else.

Certainly, being super-rich skews one's perspective and sense of proportion.

Now I'm thinking of Weird Al Yankovick's song "Don't Download This Song", which has a line "And diamond-studded swimming pools, these things don't grow on trees". ;-)

[dreamflower]

I just recently read about some Hollywood star who spent $10,000.00 on clothes for his four year old!

There seem to be two categories of super-rich: those who are into conspicuous consumption and drawing attention to themselves, and those who quietly convert huge chunks of their wealth into charities and foundations that will long outlive them.

[kerravonsen]

There's a third type: the ones who quietly (or not so quietly) spend huge chunks of their wealth in accumulating power & influence. Think Rupert Murdoch. Though I suppose that would count in the "trying to get even more rich" part.