Monday, September 28

Rich man's curse

Are rich people cursed?

Cursed with impending poor health due to his rich diet?
Cursed with unhappiness due to family politics?
Cursed with future dispute over inheritance when he passes away?
Cursed with higher chance of getting a spouse who’s only interested in the money?
Cursed with having little time left for the family?

When money comes into the topic among poorer or middle-class people, sometimes we hear phrases like

So what if they are rich? They are not even happy.
He may earn a lot of pay as an accountant, but he is working day and night. He won’t have time to spend it.
Rich people are like that one lah.

I used to stereotype the rich negatively when I was young. In fact, I nearly got a record in the police station when I was young, special thanks to a rich classmate who turned on me to save his butt from his mum’s cane. Anyway, as I growing up and reading more, I start realizing that these statements are lousy justification to remain poor. They are sour grape statements made by the poor either out of jealousy, or injustice.

If rich people are more likely to have diseases associated with rich food (gout is known as the rich man disease, and caused by high intake of seafood and alcohol), then poor people should more likely have exposure to diseases arising from hygiene or unhealthy cheap food (think McDonalds and oily fried kway teow). But at least the rich have the money for supplements and surgery if needed.

Often in family drama serials, the rich has been casted as snoobish people who looks down on their son’s girlfriend’s humble background. If that’s the case, then what about those stereotyped money-minded poor folks who are out to milk a fortune from their daughter’s rich boyfriend? Or the girl with big boobs and great looks out to score herself a rich angmoh (foreigner)?

Rich man’s kids who are portrayed as spoilt brats who believe money can solve anything. But I know a lot of rich kids who had great education from their rich dad to make money with money, as compared to aimlessly exchanging time for money. Think Robert Kiyosaki, his rich dad taught him to make money, while his poor dad taught him to study hard and earn money.

If the rich has to fight for the their rich papa’s family fortunes, then the poor has their own problem of losing a breadwinner when the poor papa dies – who will support the family now?

If the rich like to gamble huge amount of money, at least most of them gamble with their excesses (or the company’s funds. =p). For the poor, they are more likely to bring their gambling problems home. Look at those people who are barred from the Singapore casino, as requested by their family. Are they poor or rich people? Poor.

What about straying from marriage? Well, rich man has mistresses. And poor man has lovers – it’s the same. Lust does not exist only for the rich. As long as you are a uncontented low-morale god-damned son-of-a-doggy and you have the guts, then you will stray if you want to. You don’t need to be rich to be a playboy, you just have to go for a different group of girls.

And what about the stereotyping that rich people are always busy? I personally think this is another misconception. The idea of wanting to get rich for me is to have more time for myself. After all, rich people hire poor people to work for them. My angmoh boss goes back much earlier than us because HE WANTS TO. I have colleagues who work so long hours due to their strong sense of responsibility, even though they are getting much lower pay than the bosses. Even if the rich guy work long hours, he’s at least better off than being a poor man and still work long hours (or hold double jobs).

In short, rich and poor people have their own set of problems.
Don’t be biased and be fearful of getting rich.
And stop demonising the rich. They are like you and me - most have 2 eyes and 1 nose.

The rich have beer belly. The poor have char kuey teow belly.
It’s the same.

Giving sour grape statements about rich people will not make us any richer.
And it certainly won’t make us any better either.

Why be poor when you can be rich?

18 comments:

foongpc said...

It's always better to be rich than poor. Rich people have their own set of problems, but so do poor people. But at least the rich get to buy what they want! Besides, God want us all to be rich! Happiness is a state of the mind, it has nothing to do with being rich or poor : )

HappySurfer said...

Money Money Money, always funny in a rich man's world.

TG said...

Excellent post, Shingo. In the end we're all human, so you'll have idiots among rich and poor and you'll have awsome people among rich and poor.

Zheng WuLeow said...

You know the famous saying "money doesn't buy you happiness"?

That's really nonsensical. Money buys choices. When you're rich, you could choose to go to atas restaurant, not-so-atas restaurant, or MacDonald.

But when you're not so rich, like me, Macs your permanent best friend.

Ken Wooi said...

everyone hopes to be rich..
but problems are inevitable..
there'll always be problems here and there..

we noticed more of the rich people's problem because we look up to them.. that's why many have the mentality that rich people face more troubles..

like foongpc said, not-so-rich people also have their own problems.. just that not many people noticed it because they are not-so-rich.. =)

kenwooi.com

khengsiong said...

In a pyramid marketing scheme, the people on top are rich but not busy. They are like making passive income.

But of course, it is not easy to climb to the top.

Donna said...

it's always [ALWAYS!! REPEAT: ALWAYTS] better to be rich than poor la...

all the curses are from poor ppl's sour grape XD

wenn said...

ya..would prefer to be rich than poor..i hv been poor during my childhood..

Shingo T said...

foongc:
"Rich people have their own set of problems, but so do poor people. But at least the rich get to buy what they want!"
I can't put it in any way better than what you just said.

HappySurfer:
Is that the lyrics to that "money money money" song?

MKL:
Yup. No stereotyping and categorisation needed.

Plankton:
Yes, being rich buys us options in life. Has anyone told you that you are quite sensible for someone your age? =p

kenwooi:
The rich always rule the headlines of the tabloid news. Poor folks seldom make any news that are juicy.

khengsiong:
Yup, there's the rich that works smart. Then there's the rich who works by outsmarting the gullible.

dolly:
Benchmarking of income should not be done to demoralise people. It should instead to inspire us - why can't we achieve it just like them?

wenn:
I used to be really poor when I was young. I'm still poor, just better off than the past. And for that, I'm contented. But I will strive better and not take it for granted.

HappySurfer said...

Yes it is, here are the lyrics.

Roxy. said...

I truly understand what u mean. And another impt thing beside money in this world is connections. Having the right network saves you from lot of stuff and also gets you a lot of stuff.

Shingo T said...

HappySurfer:
Haha, appreciate the lyrics. =p Will singalong when no one is looking.
*blush*

Roxy:
Agreed. As the saying goes "A person's nett worth is measured by the size of his network."

Roxy. said...

Btw shingo, someone left a comment for you on my blog.
Here you go.

Hey Shingo,
What kind of certificate do you have?

Missy Lynn said...

Love this post =)

I am constantly in the mood to slap unmotivated people.

Shingo T said...

Roxy:
Marriage certificate, does that count?

Missy Lynn:
Thanks! I love to slap unmotivated people too, but I can only imagine myself doing that. Don't wanna get sued. =p

Anonymous said...

It's how you choose to spend your money that counts in the end.

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