The love of money ...
Paul's letter to his mentee, Timothy, has been quoted a lot. We've all heard it.
I always thought that quote was directed at rich people who sit in their corner offices smoking those big cigars and counting their money... like Mr. Scrooge in his "counting house".
What I've learned is that people who don't have two nickels to rub together are committing that sin every day. It's disheartening and sad.
Oft times these people think their way to riches is a lawsuit. They make a decision to take somebody to court and sue them, not because someone has wronged them, but just because they can. They select their target and fire. They find a dirtbag attorney who works on a contingent fee arrangement and boom...payday.
I think that their creativity in conjuring up an injury, physical or financial, is astounding. And if they put that creative energy to work in a legitimate enterprise they would be wealthy. The sad truth is that even if they win a lawsuit, the gains are squandered quickly.
I can only imagine the damage and economic effect of this cottage industry of people who believe that they are just "one lawsuit away from retirement."
The Institute for Legal Reform states that "America has the costliest legal system in the world." It is "three times higher than France and five times higher than Japan." As an American, I'm embarrassed and ashamed of that statistic.
Again quoting the Institute for Legal Reform: "New York City had to spend $550 million on lawsuit costs – which comes to approximately $70 for every resident of the city."
Crazy!
Do you have any personal experiences you can share?
Sources:
http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/issues/lawsuit-abuse-impact
The capability of being evil lies within each one of us regardless poor or rich. There has been always this association that rich people are evil and they don't deserve what they have. It is very interesting how as a culture collectively sometimes we justify certain behaviors.
I have seen people at Home Depot stealing a screw, not because they can't afford it but because there is this justification that says. "Well, Home Depot is a big business. It won't go broke if I take this 10 Cents screw that I need anyways."
Unfortunately this is not only one person but many having the same rationale.
This may sound cliché but being poor is a mindset. To succeed and achieve our dreams we go far and beyond by helping each rather than stepping on each other. Lastly we have to promote integrity as a culture. Instead of policing each other, we should police our behavior.
Excellent thoughts dveloper. I am convinced that part of that poor mindset you mention is a victim mentality. People blame others for their own bad decisions and they look outside of themselves for solutions. I have been guilty of the victim mentality before, but fortunately I haven't made it a way of life. How about you?
I believe mainstream media works to push this mindset.
I couldn't agree more Dveloper!
"I made my lot the old-fashioned way: I SUED somebody."
I don't remember where I first read that clever saying, but ot made me slightly sick at the time, and it still makes me slightly sick.
Sometimes I get really tired and sad in this litigious society. But I also find that I end up getting really tired and sad that it takes so much effort to merely paddle in place in life... and I can't help but think that some of our suit-happiness is a result of the fact that so many people are trapped in lives where they realize that no matter how hard they bust their butt, it's never going to be enough to get ahead. And so, we're faced with this "lottery effect" where the only path to real life improvement is "a big score."
If we lived in a world were "working hard" was actually enough I think there would be fewer lawsuits.