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For many of us, when greed is mentioned, the cautionary tale of King Midas springs to mind. Midas wished to be able to turn all he touched to gold, but in the end gained unimaginable wealth and lost his humanity.
On its surface, that ancient story might set tragic avarice in the world of powerful men, but that's not reality, is it?
Greed is not restricted to those who have already accumulated wealth or prosperity and just can't get enough.
Folks who don't have the proverbial "pot to pee in" or "window to throw it out of" can also be fixated on having more and more and more -- not necessarily more of what they need, just more.
Economists say U.S. citizens are currently carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in credit card debt, and I suspect that figure will skyrocket in the coming months. I also suspect most of this debt is borne by people living beyond their means.
About half of all monthly credit card balances are carried by people who earn less than $50,000 a year. Economists say they lack the necessary reserves to pay for emergencies or are responding to impulses triggered by Madison Avenue pitchpeople or social media influencers or their need to have more than the Joneses across the street.
Both the financial burden of daily living and the spirit of acquisition drive the American economy -- and make communitarianism, socialism, egalitarianism and related theories so threatening. This is also why concepts like "affordability" seem so foreign to the executive and his ilk, a class of people defined by accumulation and impulsiveness, whose god is capitalism wrapped in a thin democratic veneer.
The spirit of Midas is at the core of the executive's appeal, a man fans say has a magical touch, even fans whose existence is defined by their inability to pay their bills, save for emergencies, afford health care, suitable housing, etc.
And yet this need to have more -- especially more than the neighbors across the street, across the state line, or across the ocean -- is deep in American soil and water.
That slogan "America First" is not just a nationalist's battle cry -- it's a siren song for the greedy and selfish that too many of us rally around.
On its surface, that ancient story might set tragic avarice in the world of powerful men, but that's not reality, is it?
Greed is not restricted to those who have already accumulated wealth or prosperity and just can't get enough.
Folks who don't have the proverbial "pot to pee in" or "window to throw it out of" can also be fixated on having more and more and more -- not necessarily more of what they need, just more.
Economists say U.S. citizens are currently carrying nearly $1.3 trillion in credit card debt, and I suspect that figure will skyrocket in the coming months. I also suspect most of this debt is borne by people living beyond their means.
About half of all monthly credit card balances are carried by people who earn less than $50,000 a year. Economists say they lack the necessary reserves to pay for emergencies or are responding to impulses triggered by Madison Avenue pitchpeople or social media influencers or their need to have more than the Joneses across the street.
Both the financial burden of daily living and the spirit of acquisition drive the American economy -- and make communitarianism, socialism, egalitarianism and related theories so threatening. This is also why concepts like "affordability" seem so foreign to the executive and his ilk, a class of people defined by accumulation and impulsiveness, whose god is capitalism wrapped in a thin democratic veneer.
The spirit of Midas is at the core of the executive's appeal, a man fans say has a magical touch, even fans whose existence is defined by their inability to pay their bills, save for emergencies, afford health care, suitable housing, etc.
And yet this need to have more -- especially more than the neighbors across the street, across the state line, or across the ocean -- is deep in American soil and water.
That slogan "America First" is not just a nationalist's battle cry -- it's a siren song for the greedy and selfish that too many of us rally around.
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