I do every time I buy one.
Why it matters that our politicians are rich
Does being wealthy make you into an insensitive jerk? Science is offering some unsettling answers.
"Why it matters that our politicians are rich; Science is finding that money actually changes how you think and act—and not for the better" by Britt Peterson | February 19, 2012
As the presidential primary race has unfolded over the last few months, curious Americans have angled for a look at the candidates’ wallets—and observed that they are bulging. There’s Newt Gingrich, with his $7 million fortune and an up to $1 million revolving line of credit at Tiffany. The relentlessly anti-elitist Rick Santorum disclosed last week that he earns roughly $1 million a year. Mitt Romney built an immense $200 million fortune through his “corporate raider” work at Bain Capital; even Ron Paul, who claimed in one debate that he was embarrassed to show his tax forms because he made so much less money than his rivals, is worth as much as $5.2 million.
Ron Paul part of the problem?
This striking wealth among politicians goes beyond the GOP. One of these four men will face off against the now wealthy Barack Obama, whose book royalties alone ran to $2.5 million in 2008.
He is not really saying Ron Paul stands a chance at this point, is he?
Beyond the Oval Office, there’s Congress, whose members have a median net worth of $913,000, compared with $100,000 for the rest of us, according to a recent New York Times report. (Massachusetts’ own John Kerry is one leader of the pack, with a fortune that in 2009 was estimated at $167 million.)
Politicians would like us to believe that all this money doesn’t matter in a deeper sense—that what matters is ideas, skills, and leadership ability. Aside from a little extra business savvy, they’re regular people just like the rest of us: They just happen to have more money.
But is that true? In fact, a number of new studies suggest that, in certain key ways, people with that much money are not like the rest of us at all. As a mounting body of research is showing, wealth can actually change how we think and behave—and not for the better. Rich people have a harder time connecting with others, showing less empathy to the extent of dehumanizing those who are different from them. They are less charitable and generous. They are less likely to help someone in trouble. And they are more likely to defend an unfair status quo.
I recognize elite supremacism when I see it.
If you think you’d behave differently in their place, meanwhile, you’re probably wrong: These aren’t just inherited traits, but developed ones. Money, in other words, changes who you are.
Actually no. I've already told friends if I fall into money or win the lottery (ha-ha) I'm disappearing and keeping it to myself.
As voters consider which presidential candidate to support in November, one thing is for sure: Whoever wins is going to have money and power to spare. In a world where our politicians are inevitably better off than most of the people they govern, the new research sheds fresh light on the nature of our elected leaders—and offers insight into why they so often seem oblivious to our problems. And, given that some of us may one day build a successful business or win the lottery, it also begins to offer some hints of how we might face down the corrupting influence of wealth and power ourselves.
Speak for yourself.
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The result of these differences, say researchers who work on money and social class, is that people have a completely different worldview: more self-involved, self-justifying, and even, crueler....
You know, the traits of the globe-kicking crowd.
You might think that electing poor or low-status people to positions of power could help solve the problem, but it turns out not to be so easy....
No, I do not automatically associate virtue with poverty.
So it’s all very well for us to curse our wealthy senators for their insensitivity. If we think we’re immune from these kinds of changes—that, if given their money and power, we would all be benevolent dictators—we are probably fooling ourselves.
Please speak only for yourself.
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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS of realizing that our wealthy leaders may be more callous, self-absorbed, and self-justifying than the people they represent? For one thing, it suggests that the constant calls for candidates to release tax returns and disclose their assets are not so petty after all.
Beyond underscoring the importance of disclosure, however, the new research also offers some hope—not just for Rich Uncle Moneybags, but for you, if you happen to win a Senate election.
That's not me.
As Adam Galinsky, a psychologist at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management who has been studying the effects of power for a decade, explained, power doesn’t necessarily turn everyone cruel: It merely reveals their true colors.
The leaders of the mass-murdering EUSraeli empire!
With power comes disinhibition, which can have the counterintuitive effect of turning a run-of-the-mill billionaire into a major philanthropist. “Power...frees you to act like your true self,” said....
Thus we get lying, mass-murdering, war-criminal torturers in charge of the planet.
And there’s more hope for rich or powerful people who want to avoid becoming insensitive jerks: Compassion, at least, can be taught....
I know just where to start.
Whether a given person will take on the challenge of cultivating his own compassion, of course, is another question. In trying to guess whether a wealthy political candidate will be hard-hearted or generous in practice, then, even complete financial disclosure is not enough; as always, it’s up to us to predict how a candidate’s character will guide him in office.
If you win the lottery and want to avoid becoming an insensitive lout yourself, however, the new findings offer some solutions.
Honestly, I HAVE HAD IT WITH THE ELITIST INSULTS!
Sure, you could watch lots of compassion-inducing videos. But better yet, Dacher Keltner, psychologist [with] one team associated with the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, says, “Give at least half of the money away.” Not only does charity bring happiness, but getting rid of some of that windfall might be the simplest way to stay just as kind and decent as you are right now....
Yes, LEAVE all that LOOT for the BANKERS!
Maybe the article is right after all because that is who they have been describing.
