Reading Post #3: Money=Happiness?

In Agenda for a New Economy, the author states that Wall Street is merely good at making a small group of people extremely wealthy while leaving many of those who work hard still impoverished. He focuses on the point that we should not mistaken money as real wealth since it is "simply a coupon that may be redeemed for goods and services of real intrinsic value". Having watched the Inside Job several times, I am aware that because of systemic corruption of our financial services industry, our money--what we consider as wealth, can mean nothing or disappear overnight. I agree with the author's argument that we should shift the focus from Wall Street (making fast money) to Main Street (creating livelihoods).

Asides from Wall Street's corruption, I believe that the value and attitude of the public should be changed in order to solve our problems. Our society largely uses monetary wealth to determine people's success and overlooks other social/environmental problems. We give attention to TV shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, making the riches even richer. While we may deride them, some people more or less admire or envy their fithly rich yet seemingly effortless lifestyles. Because of Wall Street and the media, many people are even more certain that money brings happiness. Instead of worshipping the riches and contemplating how to make quick cash, we should look into how to live more sustainably and efficiently, putting every human resource to good uses and finding ways for the environment to accommodate the ever-growing population.