<p>I am reminded of that little gem of a movie IDIOCRACY. All the smart, driven folks stop reproducing and the new world has “really smart folks” with an IQ of 50.</p>
<p>Terrible movie, interesting premise.</p>
<p>That was a really rotten movie. BUT, it was an absolutely fascinating premise, and I am reminded of it often. I am afraid that is the way the world seems to be going…</p>
<p>On a different note, I think it is really arrogant to make judgements on people because of income, low or high. There are people who make almost nothing and are extremely happy and satisfied in their lives, good for them-but that doesn’t make them superior to anyone else, nor inferior. On the other hand, we know many multi-millionaires who are successful because they are extremely motivated, brilliant and very obsessed with what they do. They aren’t just searching for more money and sacrificing their families for more pay, they believe in what they do and are very good at it. Whose business is it to judge their choices? And by the way, they pay most of the taxes and donate most of the money----so to them, I say THANK YOU!!! No implications that because they are successful, they must be taking the money away from some poor family. I appreciate it that many people in this country have the financial choices they do, and hope that the economy picks up to make life better for all.</p>
<p>“That’s the truth. But go ahead and ignore it if you wish.”</p>
<p>I ignored it and applied, go tell the parents on college confidential about that.</p>
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<p>ihs76, please tell me where you live, so I know NEVER to go near it. I hate reptiles. They’re gross. I’m guessing you live somewhere warm because snakes and other cold blooded animals generally don’t like the cold. One reason I do like the cold, it keeps the snakes away. Yuck.</p>
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<p>I don’t have problem with people making lots of money. The problem is when they say that it is not sufficient and that money matters for them.</p>
<p>According to today’s news 1 in 7 American family is struggling to put food on the table this thanksgiving. And we have parents on CC like ‘momLive’ who with million dollars of liquid assets with 0 debts saying money matters to them. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong in making money but not being passionate to those who actually have hard time making ends meet is wrong.</p>
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<p>I explained before also that my DD had her heart set on Yale because of ‘Gilmore Girls’ and not because I wanted her to matriculate to Yale. Since Yale was an Ivy and so I create the user name ‘ParentOfIvyHope’.</p>
<p>She also wanted to pursue Computer Engineering as her undergraduate major and over the course of her high school MIT emerges as her first choice and the college tour last summer removed Yale as an option. She never applied to Yale.</p>
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<p>DD got into each and every college except Harvard. If going to Ivy was so important to status or to her success, then I would have asked DD to join Princeton instead she chose to attend the college she liked most.</p>
<p>So I say(not preach) things that I practice.</p>
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<p>Terrible movie, Flawed premise.</p>
<p>Not all high IQ Parent reproduce high IQ children and vice versa.</p>
<p>True, the IQs don’t always match-but generally they are within about 8 points of each other (or so I’ve read).</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with saying “money matters”. That is not the same as saying “I am completely obsessed with making more money and sacrifice everything in that pursuit”. Those who say that “money does not matter” might be happy to blow it all on an expensive toy or completely waste it instead of save, invest or donate it. Purely because people are watching over their finances even though they have a high income or net worth is just smart, not greedy. I am quite certain that money does not make you happy…but not having enough to take care of your family can make you extremely unhappy!</p>
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<p>Thank you Av8r. That is exactly what I meant when I said that money does matter even it you make a lot.</p>
<p>PIOH, I think you are misinterpreting what people are saying when they say that money matters. They are not saying they don’t have enough or that they need to make more. They are saying that they still feel the need to be prudent about how they spend it. </p>
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<p>Not sure where you got the idea that saying money matters equates to not being passionate to those that have a hard time making ends meet but I would be more than happy to provide a list of each and every donation we make to help those in need as well as the # of hours I have personally spent raising money for cause and working as a volunteer. Sorry, but you are jumping to major conclusions on this thread. A refresher in the art of logic might be in order.</p>
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<p>I think you’re being disingenuous, POIH. Money certainly matters to you insofar as it has enabled you to give your daughter fabulous opportunities. You’ve said that you would move anywhere in the country for her education. You gave her an education at a top-notch private school that certainly didn’t come cheap, and now you’re paying full pay at another top-notch university that doesn’t come cheap, either. You talked about the possibility of you and your wife moving to the Boston area to be near her, and / or your wife traveling abroad should your daughter go abroad. You’ve talked about visiting her multiple times of the year, which is not inconsequential when you live in CA. You can afford to do these things, or think about these things, because you have a decent amount of money. </p>
<p>Money obviously “matters” because if you / wife made $40K/ year, you wouldn’t be able to consider doing these things, at all. “Money matters” and “money is ALL that matters” are two very different things. Look, I’m sure you do very well (and more power to you, I wish you nothing but continued success). That doesn’t mean that you’re consumed with money - so why not afford the same courtesy to Momlive?</p>
<p>Money sure matters to me! I made some lifestyle choices and don’t make the salary level many in my profession do, but I love my job and I sure wouldn’t turn down a lottery win! Money allowed us to provide the kind of education we wanted to for our kids, take some fun vacations and live in a nice place. Money isn’t everything- we all know that. It can sure be a nice motivator, though. Tell these undergrads, MBA grads and law school grads that can’t find jobs that money doesn’t matter!</p>
<p>And I think there is often some incredible naivete on these boards about how there are people who can and do make gobs of money without being lawyers at Cravath, doctors at Mass Gen or hedge fund managers. Some of the most money is made by people who are flying under the radar screen, who might work for companies that no one knows, but boy do they rake it in because they make or sell a product or service someone really wants. It’s pretty provincial to think that it’s only a select set of brand-name companies in which one can earn the big bucks, but you see it on CC all the time – people who are so provincial that they think that the only places businesses and law firms exist are in Manhattan.</p>
<p>Doctors at Mass Gen don’t make much in the larger scheme of things :)</p>
<p>I’ve seen studies that show a linear relationship between amount of income and happiness under 50K/year. Once you hit 50K/year, a point where food and housing are covered I would think, the happiness line flattens out. More money does not buy you more happiness after that point. </p>
<p>Reading a book, “Geography of Bliss”. Interesting read vis-a-vis this discussion.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl: I think you got me wrong on this.
The point I was trying to make was that if you don’t aspire to make more money than what you have or making then money doesn’t matter to you.</p>
<p>If you still think you can live better than what you are doing right now with the money you are making than money does matter to you.</p>
<p>So I think if money matters to some one after making $300K/year than it will not stop mattering even after making million$/year.</p>
<p>I hope I’m able to make my point clear this time. Not aspiring to make more money doesn’t mean you are not ambitious or you are not aspiring to do great thing. The point is the purpose of doing thing is not to make more money but pursue your passion.</p>
<p>POIH:
Please read “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Edwards. I think you’ll enjoy the premise.</p>
<p>Thanks neuron, that’s the most drastic satirest pieces I’ve ever come across.</p>
<p>^^ Think you mean Jonathan Swift, not Jonathan Edwards.</p>
<p>^^^: Ok Yes, I thought Jonathan Swift.</p>
<p>LOL-- a book by John (not Jonathan) Edwards would appropriately be entitled “An Indecent Proposal”. Oh wait, they already made a movie about that.</p>