Say now, 'spose you were a "millionaire" - would you give it all away?

[2Bwacco]

Money Can't Buy Happiness, So Man Gives Away Every Penny of His £3 Million Fortune

By Alex in Money & Finance on Feb 10, 2010 at 2:05 am

Karl Rabeder grew up poor and thought that life would be wonderful if he had money. But when he got rich, Karl discovered that he was unhappy … so he decided to give away every penny of his £3 million fortune:

"My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come."

Instead, he will move out of his luxury Alpine retreat into a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit in Innsbruck.

His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up in Central and Latin America, but he will not even take a salary from these.

"For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said. "I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years," said Mr Rabeder.

But over time, he had another, conflicting feeling.
"More and more I heard the words: ‘Stop what you are doing now – all this luxury and consumerism – and start your real life’," he said. "I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need. I have the feeling that there are lot of people doing the same thing."

What do you think? Is he doing the right thing or is this just a crazy idea of a rich man?

[Thad]

And another idiot bites the dust. So you give money away and those who know how to catch money end up with it.

Money in this case is a child given away to be raised by others.

If you don't know what to do with money then give it someone who does.

The wrong with today is called life "After" the glut...what was life like before? what was traded off for this ?

Money is the means to show a working model of how life can work in a way for all to benefit and not end up in the same pockets.

Money Can't Buy Happiness, So Man Gives Away Every Penny of His £3 Million Fortune

By Alex in Money & Finance on Feb 10, 2010 at 2:05 am

Karl Rabeder grew up poor and thought that life would be wonderful if he had money. But when he got rich, Karl discovered that he was unhappy … so he decided to give away every penny of his £3 million fortune:

"My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come."

Instead, he will move out of his luxury Alpine retreat into a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit in Innsbruck.

His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up in Central and Latin America, but he will not even take a salary from these.

"For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said. "I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years," said Mr Rabeder.

But over time, he had another, conflicting feeling.
"More and more I heard the words: ‘Stop what you are doing now – all this luxury and consumerism – and start your real life’," he said. "I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need. I have the feeling that there are lot of people doing the same thing."

What do you think? Is he doing the right thing or is this just a crazy idea of a rich man?

[macbev]

Thad, just because you don't understand why Karl Rabeder gave away his fortune doesn't mean that he didn't know what he was doing.

He did set up his own charities to use the money, so he was not merely passing the money to unknown quantities.

There is a Buddhist saying, "Barn's burned down. Now I can see the moon." You can also read Thoreau. Sometimes it's fun to explore other points of view. Good luck!

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Money Can't Buy Happiness, So Man Gives Away Every Penny of His £3 Million Fortune

By Alex in Money & Finance on Feb 10, 2010 at 2:05 am

Karl Rabeder grew up poor and thought that life would be wonderful if he had money. But when he got rich, Karl discovered that he was unhappy … so he decided to give away every penny of his £3 million fortune:

"My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come."

Instead, he will move out of his luxury Alpine retreat into a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit in Innsbruck.

His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up in Central and Latin America, but he will not even take a salary from these.

"For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said. "I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years," said Mr Rabeder.

But over time, he had another, conflicting feeling.
"More and more I heard the words: ‘Stop what you are doing now – all this luxury and consumerism – and start your real life’," he said. "I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need. I have the feeling that there are lot of people doing the same thing."

What do you think? Is he doing the right thing or is this just a crazy idea of a rich man?

[2Bwacco]

I would venture to say that it is a necessary requirement of democracy and/or the human condition to explore or consider other points of view.

Without that ability we humans would only act on behalf of self-satisfaction, would learn nothing and not advance. I'm constantly amazed by things past civilizations in areas all around the world have been able to accomplish and build: Macciu Picciu (okokcan't spell that), Mayas, Pyramids, Romans, Greeks.

Nowadays folks think they accomplished something after playing a video game to some level of achievement or texting on their cell phone.

"...There is a Buddhist saying, "Barn's burned down. Now I can see the moon." You can also read Thoreau. Sometimes it's fun to explore other points of view..."

[Thad]

The idea of Rejuvenation is so clear to me what steps to take to reinstate hope, and it seems everyone does everything but. The starting point is so humble it doesn't have a lot of star glamor, but to use the homeless and define what home should be is so clear to me. All the advances as though Obama tasked a NASA engineer to the homeless quarters to give each homeless a pedal powered rv as part of a scholarship package in a strange new approach.

Its time we defined exactly how much energy output should secure the basic provisions of personal shelter, waste management, and new currency...as though the profit margin was set aside for a moment in wonder of what could be

The economy would jump start and we would revamp just at the start of something so small.


TRANSITIVE VERB:
re·vamped, re·vamp·ing, re·vamps

1. To patch up or restore; renovate.
2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example).
3. To vamp (a shoe) anew.

NOUN:

The act or an instance of revamping; a complete reorganization or revision.

Thad, just because you don't understand why Karl Rabeder gave away his fortune doesn't mean that he didn't know what he was doing.

He did set up his own charities to use the money, so he was not merely passing the money to unknown quantities.

There is a Buddhist saying, "Barn's burned down. Now I can see the moon." You can also read Thoreau. Sometimes it's fun to explore other points of view. Good luck!

--------------------------------------

[macbev]

Thad, I'm afraid I don't understand how your latest message relates to someone giving away a fortune or to the idea that perhaps a lot of possessions can limit one's freedom.


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The idea of Rejuvenation is so clear to me what steps to take to reinstate hope, and it seems everyone does everything but. The starting point is so humble it doesn't have a lot of star glamor, but to use the homeless and define what home should be is so clear to me. All the advances as though Obama tasked a NASA engineer to the homeless quarters to give each homeless a pedal powered rv as part of a scholarship package
in a strange new approach.

Its time we defined exactly how much energy output should secure the basic provisions of personal shelter, waste management, and new currency...as though the profit margin was set aside for a moment in wonder of what could be

The economy would jump start and we would revamp just at the start of
something so small.


TRANSITIVE VERB:
re·vamped, re·vamp·ing, re·vamps

1. To patch up or restore; renovate.
2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example).
3. To vamp (a shoe) anew.

NOUN:

The act or an instance of revamping; a complete reorganization or revision.

[Thad]

As to Thoreau I am particularly attracted to his recognition of how many live lives of quiet desperation

I emphasize again that money given away is a child to be raised by others.

Thad, I'm afraid I don't understand how your latest message relates to someone giving away a fortune or to the idea that perhaps a lot of possessions can limit one's freedom.


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[Thad]

P.S

Out of everything that is wrong there is one thing to begin the repair. We approach Valentines day right now.

Now imagine the difference between a cupid with bad aim and a cupid with good aim.

Its a very strange thing that the classical definition of sin is " to miss the mark"

This is an archery term and is best viewed in terms of Valentines day,

you can see the difference between a cupid with good aim and a cupid with bad aim

and so if cupid hits the mark there is something that happens, if the mark is

missed well that is sin because nothing happens. Can you blame someone for bad aim?

its just a matter of practice, but that doesn't change the fact of whether

one hits the target or not. and there are completely different outcomes

between the two

As to Thoreau I am particularly attracted to his recognition of how many live lives of quiet desperation

I emphasize again that money given away is a child to be raised by others.

[lynn]

As per your question..."Say now, 'spose you were a "millionaire" - would you give it all away?"

No, I wouldn't...I'd want to keep a nice big chunk for Retirement...I've found out I don't like being money 'poor' in the sense of wanting to do certain things...It's easy for me to live pretty frugally, and simply...but it gets boring and frustrating after a while since certain things I love to do, do cost money...

If I had 3 mil. right now...I'd put a chunk towards helping people in Haiti, the Gulf, and here...And I'd go out to a very nice posh posh restaurant and splurge!!...:)

[LenInSebastopol]

Lottery came out a while back and a lot of folks were buying tickets; after some reflection it occurred that winning would be like getting hit with a baseball bat. Congratulations for all the misery it would bring into another wise productive life.