Over the course of the past century, much of the public has been
lulled into believing money and the right to have it, solves societal
problems. Public education can be fixed, if we put enough money
into it. Poverty can be fixed, if we put enough money into it
(attn. John Edwards). We’re not even allowed to make mistakes
anymore without legal counsel telling us that our mistakes aren’t
actually ours and thus we’re entitled to compensation for making
them. Even the bizarre reparations movement has a belief that
somehow money given for century old injustices is a solution.
But in this piece,
we find some truth to the axiom that money can simply create more
problems. Widows and survivors of 9/11 are steeped in the many
problems that instant money creates. An excerpt:
During the feverish days following the attack, Congress established
a billion- dollar compensation fund, and grieving wives became
overnight millionaires. No one could have known that for many of them, the money would
destroy their lives once again, attracting jealousy, resentful
relatives and making them even more depressed. Some would become
squandering, spendaholic widows, their payouts fuelling addictions
which could not replace the husbands they had lost. Others would become
embroiled in legal battles with their families, their lives eaten up by
bitterness.
In the absence of core values, financial acumen, and meaning in
life, people who are simply given financial security, rarely become
“better” people and, more often than not, actually become more
dependent in the long run.
