Money is Not the Real Issue

The trouble with money is not really a question of how much or how little there is of it in the world but how well or poorly it is created, distributed, and put to use in the world. Many people feel they have to lie, cheat and steal for it, or they feel ashamed or guilty about it, or they resent having to sell their soul to have enough of it. We live in a world where there is no shortage of money. Billions of dollars are held in and flow through offshore tax havens. Billions of dollars worth of assets are owned by the top corporations across the world. Every day billions of dollars are moved around the world through the world money markets. There is no shortage of money in the world but this has not decreased the problems we collectively face.

Have you ever had the thought that if you had an unlimited supply of money all your problems would be over? Many people have won a lot of money and far from solving their problems it created a lot more. For instance Evelyn Adams won the New Jersey lottery not just once but twice (1985, 1986) to the tune of $5.4 million. Today she in pennyless and lives in a trailer. William Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security. A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. His brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt and he eventually declared bankruptcy. Willie Hurt won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. He had spent his fortune on a divorce and crack cocaine.

So you see money is not the real issue. The real issue is whether or not you are (gently or passionately) sliding into the life you want to live.