is sustaining the economy more important than building wealth on social status?
108979
Wealth should never be redistributed or built by the government for individuals within the society. Each person is responsible for themselves and those within their own family unit.\n\nSo with this in mind, the obvious answer is YES, sustaining the economy is more important than any socialist wealth building programs.
882410
You can be financially sound if and only if you are earning more than you are spending. This of course would be applicable only until you are capable of working. Being able to put up a business, invest or save which can be your milking cow when you retire may probably a  metric to say you are in such a status.
885887
Capitalists would probably say yes, but with an unrestrained free market and no mechanism for wealth redistribution the rich tend to get richer and the poor get poorer.  It takes money to make money.
644662
ah, the utopian question.  in a society in which money doesnt exist, presumably everyone would do what they are best at/enjoy the most, and they would help each other out when they needed.  of course, most humans (and I would venture its close to ALL humans) are greedy, and the strive for money dominates their lives.  thus, the importance of a job is to be able to provide for yourself and your family in a flawed system where the dollar is the real god.
190903
This is the old question of education vs. experience.  Both are important and both help to thrive.  However, if you want to have experiences on the better side of town you should give some serious thought of getting an education.
360337
Power gives you legitimacy and authority. Wealth gives you power and protect your power. When you are wealthy you are influential. Amount of wealth define your status.
304104
I would say both! But i will also tend to lean towards happiness my friend. Financial reward is definetly good when it comes to material gain. Once one has money, one can achieve greater things such as material spending etc... Although when one has no material gain, what will you do? On the other hand, if you are happy, then what else does matter? \n\nFor example: You have earned $5000 a month. You will spend it on rent, utilities etc.. But you will also spend it on something you like because it will make you happy. Well it will make you think that you are happy!!! But what if you don't have that amount? What if you just have happiness? You don't even need to spend on anything, but you will still be happy. And what is better than being happy? If you know what happiness is, then everything else doesn't really matter...\n\nThere are people out in the world who are doing jobs called volunteering. They are actually doing it for their own happiness (even though they are doing it for their resume also)! But if you talk to some of those people, they will tell you that the best accomplishments in their life was to help those people in needs, not the amount of money they were making 15 years after that!!!! \n\nSo yes both because you need to survive in the world today, but it is more important to be happy than be rich! Cheers!
226816
The social welfare system provides health and education to everyone, producing a healthy and talented workforce.  One of the key factors to a good economy is making use of all the population's talent and giving everyone a chance to realize their potential so they can contribute.  It's very hard for a person to contribute to society when they are sick, in poverty or uneducated.
1013771
There are several things that are more important.  For instance to me the amount of jobs that are NOT out there is very important.  I think what really urks me though is the fact that my husband just lost his job and we tried to get our 2 children on state ins. just until he could get another job with ins.  they denied us and said we made to much money.  Even when we are paying for our ins we are paying a fortune then we turn around and still pay a fortune out.
394179
Absolutely NOT!  I believe the tax burden on the poor should be light and that those who are successful and benefited the most from society should carry the larger tax burden.  Our current system is set up to do just that.  A flat tax would be nothing but a huge tax increase on the working poor and middle class and a tax cut for the wealthy.
602229
My opinion is that too many people associate happiness with monetary worth but have their priorities in the wrong order. While it is true that money can provide certain things in life that will in turn bring a type of happiness, the most common mistake is in thinking you have to have money first to be happy. That's a bit rhetorical in that it's easier to be happy first than to have the money first. Not many of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouths so we have to work for living to make this money in order to have the financial freedom that is commonly associated with happiness. Therefore, its my belief, that you first have to be happy with yourself and like what you do to make a living. When these two things take place simultaneously then more often than not you will be good at what it is you do to make money. When you're good at your work then you climb the ladder of financial success and the money comes by virtue of all this.
1060555
I’d probably be more inclined to think that happiness is more important than success. But is it a right? I think you have the duty to yourself to be happy first and foremost and that includes being honest to yourself, otherwise you’ll never find true happiness. If along the way should you find success, that would be an added bonus but it would not be more important that finding true happiness. The gathering of material goods is by no means an indicator of having lived a successful or happy life. It just means that you had a lot of stuff that you’d be giving to other people when you die.\n\nPersonally though I don’t think there are any god given rights, as it were.
910421
I see the answer in the question, If you are rich,then you are keeping it all to yourself, laying up treasure on earth.If you gave the money to feed the hungry, house the homeless,pay doctors for the ill, then you would no longer be rich,in the earthly sense.
670523
"Propagandists, from Shakespeare to Jacqueline Susann, have been telling the unrich that money doesn’t buy happiness. The unrich, not being immune to spasms of common sense, sometimes wonder about this." -- Anthony Haden-Guest \n\nPsychology has shown that richer people generally rank the overall quality of their lives more favorably than poorer people do. At the same time, their actual happiness seems to be motivated less by their ability to buy more than by being able to keep up with those with comparable resources in their own age group (five years older or younger), according to a new study.
492284
I think that this question can be viewed from many angles, here are a couple of my own personal thoughts:\n\nOn an individual basis it depends on the values of the person and what priorities they have in their lives. An increase in prosperity if a radical change for that individual might prove to be detrimental to their happiness by virtue of the overwhelming changes the prosperity can bring with it, new found prosperity can divide families and friends through jealousy and envy, conversely it can if managed properly bring wonderful changes to an individual and open up fresh opportunities and allow them to do more for close friends, family and charitable causes.\n\nOn a society basis in general looking at prosperity for a country for example then I'm more positive in my outlook for potential happiness, however it does widen the gulf between those who prosper and those that don't, but any prosperous society should have a better social framework to support those in the society who are disadvantaged for whatever reason.
1013305
Money is not important to the economy - money IS the economy!  Unless you live in a cannibalistic tribe that uses bones for money, then bones are your economy.
509729
Because affluent people tend to socialize around activities, like sailing or tennis, and can afford to travel and pay for those activites, while people with modest incomes make do with the people around them.\n\nNeither is better than the other - the poorer people have a greater sense of community in the immediate nearby sense, while the affluent people combine their business networking in with things they like to do, because they can afford to.\n\nAt least, that's the way I see it.