http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:33:52 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software /archives/2008/04/03/055213.php#comment-778050 i like ur opinion 778050@blogcritics.org Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:33:52 EST /archives/2008/04/03/055213.php#comment-712402 It is amazing. Is'nt it? What makes you unhappy is really ultimately makes you happy. When you start giving money for charities, it really makes you unhappy to begin with. Because you are parting with your money. But if you continue doing it, it hurts less and ultimately turns into happiness. In other words happiness can be learnt by going through painful process of parting with money on charity. Does it make sense? 712402@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:55:10 EDT /archives/2008/04/03/055213.php#comment-709651 Voluntarily giving money to social concerns you find justifiable probably does increase happiness. But having your hard earned money confiscated by others to give away to social concerns they find justifiable probably just leads to resentment. Then there's the happiness, and sense of accomplishment, of wealth that you've generated on your own vs. the relative lesser happiness of recieving unearned wealth. An interesting paradox I've noticed in myself and others who have accumulated some wealth, is that they're not very materialistic people. That's how they get that way. The happiness for them is the freedom that wealth gives them. If they spend it, they lose that freedom. When I was poor, I wanted things I couldn't afford. I can afford some of them now, but not all of them. But now, I like knowing that I could have something if I wanted it badly enough. The spending that makes me happiest now, is when I can find a good bargain on something that I want or need. Or, if I can buy something useful that also appreciates in value. 709651@blogcritics.org Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:01:26 EDT /archives/2008/04/03/055213.php#comment-709508 Interesting that a team of Canadian researchers should choose Americans to be the subjects of their research. Could it be because in American culture, money above all else defines one's every action and even one's worth as a citizen? Just a suggestion... 709508@blogcritics.org Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:12:16 EDT