The root of all Evil? ... or Good?

There’s a phrase that’s been going around a lot lately. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But how much of this saying is true? How often does power actually corrupt? Sure, all of the famous figures with power seemed to be corrupt one way or another. But if you think about it, the one’s that weren’t corrupt wouldn’t be famous, now would they? They would have done nothing with their power, since it never corrupted them to have it. It never crossed their mind that they could “rule the world” or have anything they wanted at their finger tips. So, another guy, just sitting there on the throne, waiting for his turn to die and let his “corrupt” child take over.

But power doesn’t necessarily have to do with ruling people. In today’s society, anywhere in the world, money is power. Whoever has the money has the power, and whoever controls the flow of money controls that flow of power. There was a poll I saw once that said nearly half of all Americans are millionaires. That means that, in the eyes of the standard American, nearly half of the country is rich. Considering that money is power, nearly half of the country has significant power. Not all of them run businesses either. In fact, most of them sit on the couch all day, letting the money role in on its own.

But how many of these people are corrupted by their new power? And what does it take to be considered corrupt? If a change in personality means you are corrupt, then yes, they are all corrupt. Most of them are now happy, rich people, rather than sad, poor people. They’re more willing to throw money around, now that they can afford it, too. But a nice guy, becoming rich, will normally stay a nice guy.

However, there are still concerns with being rich: the family will fall apart, you’ll be taxed more money effectively destroying your fortune, and it takes a lot of hard work to become/stay rich. These are all true under certain circumstances, but with most situations, none of them have to be true. Let’s work it backwards.

It takes a lot of hard work to become/stay rich. Not true. In fact, most of the people that become rich do it online, now, through surveys and freelancing. A few hours a day gets you thousands of dollars a week. Just keep at it, and you’ll become rich, and stay that way. Only problem is that it takes money to make money. Sorry poor folk, but you gotta pay people for the info on becoming rich. It seems to be a rule.

You’ll be taxed more money, effectively destroying your fortune. Also not true. In fact, as today’s standards are in America, the rich get all the breaks. And if you get rich with the method above, you can’t even be taxed upon receiving your check. Sure, you’ll still have to pay income tax and all of the other usual taxes that come from simply living, but nothing is taken from the check. So you’ll have major tax breaks and major income. And finally...

The family will fall apart. Most people think this because you get too caught up in the money to worry about them. You buy a great big mansion, a car for each person (driving or not) and everyone stays to themselves. Kids are in their sections of the house, playing by themselves or with friends, the mother is off shopping for everything her heart desires, and the father is almost always concerned with his income. Well, with the way people are getting rich nowadays, the concern with income is brought down to one hour per day. The shopping can be done online, assuming it is even needed, and who needs a mansion? Just buy a house big enough for your family size, and live like a normal person. So what if you’re rich? You want the world to know it, post it online.

So, for everyone concerned with money (power) corrupting, and tons of money (absolute power) corrupting absolutely, as long as you don’t go overboard with your newly found wealth, no corruption is going to occur. It’s when you make the decision to flaunt your money that you become corrupt.

Good rule to follow, don’t be Bill Gates.