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TBF

(37,089 posts)

74. I think it is about control -

Mon Mar 17, 2014, 08:03 PM

Mar 2014

I had a MIL who squeezed every penny dry - made shirts for herself out of her husband's old ones. There is nothing wrong with re-use and frugality, but this woman made it an art form.

I also noticed control in other areas too - over her children, husband, very judgmental.

And I know that she survived some things when she was younger - losing her mom at a young age, dropping out of school and working because they were poor.

So, I think when she was older and part of a higher-income family with her spouse she was determined to control not only the money but other things too. One can stand back, empathize, and understand how this personality could develop.

I do think it is more than just greed - there are other emotions at work and it very much smells like mental illness (or a combination of factors).

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Keynes, on how society will eventually view excessive wealth acquisition as a mental illness. [View all] reformist2 Mar 2014 OP

Excellent description of the hoarding class:) grahamhgreen Mar 2014 #1

It is sort of hoarding, coupled with competition though. cui bono Mar 2014 #7

And THAT is an excellent name for them, grahamhgreen! calimary Mar 2014 #33

Wealth extractors...I want to see the meme of "job creators" die until they actually create some!!! Moostache Mar 2014 #36

Good stuff. Opportunistic infections they are. calimary Mar 2014 #49

Maybe they used to be job creators, but no more. And they never created jobs to help others. reformist2 Mar 2014 #58

Good point, they have no intrinsic value... Moostache Mar 2014 #61

Never heard it said better. Bravo! IrishAyes Mar 2014 #75

One does wonder frazzled Mar 2014 #2

cart=>horse mopinko Mar 2014 #3

Thank you for this explanation. Do you think that money-lover was there all along, Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #4

he was there all along mopinko Mar 2014 #10

Sounds like self-esteem=money to him. Very sad. nt Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #21

more like mopinko Mar 2014 #23

There's one more thing (this is my opinion here though)... Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #25

very true. mopinko Mar 2014 #30

I like that - fear is poison. Y es, it is. nt Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #38

Excellent observation marions ghost Mar 2014 #41

Someone I heard call the way we are with one another, "like crabs in a bucket" nt Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #42

Thats how it feels to me marions ghost Mar 2014 #44

I agree. The system of life sets one person against the next, all hiding behind a facade of Sarah Ibarruri Mar 2014 #54

Right marions ghost Mar 2014 #56

I didn't read the WSJ article you attached, cilla4progress Mar 2014 #51

The way I see it marions ghost Mar 2014 #57

I agree wholeheartedly.. cilla4progress Mar 2014 #65

I can surely relate.... llmart Mar 2014 #72

brother from another mother. mopinko Mar 2014 #73

I can relate. My ex once looked me straight in the face and wondered aloud, unblinking, IrishAyes Mar 2014 #77

Conflict as a way of feeling "close" cprise Mar 2014 #81

That's the nicest way to put it. IrishAyes Mar 2014 #84

You're married to Joe Biden??? cui bono Mar 2014 #5

it would be better. at least joe is honest. mopinko Mar 2014 #13

I think this is far more likely in most cases. It's what the person brings to the table. n/t jtuck004 Mar 2014 #70

Keynes talks about this later in that essay, how the rich often don't even enjoy their riches! reformist2 Mar 2014 #6

There was this heiress who inherited $1 million in the 1920s fasttense Mar 2014 #12

Wasn't that Heddi Greene? JNelson6563 Mar 2014 #45

I couldn't remember her name fasttense Mar 2014 #85

Thank you for your op. This is one of the few on DU worth noting and discussing. L0oniX Mar 2014 #18

Hear, hear cilla4progress Mar 2014 #52

And this is why they believe they must own the future, ours, theirs, everything. n/t freshwest Mar 2014 #59

I was informed by someone who is very rich that it becomes a matter of power. L0oniX Mar 2014 #17

But even that is illusory - no single billionaire really controls much in this world. reformist2 Mar 2014 #24

It's all about using $ to measure treasured anatomy. The more $, the bigger.... y'know. IrishAyes Mar 2014 #78

Perhaps JK Rowling (for example) enjoys writing books? Nye Bevan Mar 2014 #28

That doesn't explain why ... frazzled Mar 2014 #32

Why give money away when you can make it make more? marions ghost Mar 2014 #37

I heard Rowling say in an interview once that she remained in the country of her birth IrishAyes Mar 2014 #79

JK Rowling is an example of why we need to pay our unemployed workers. They are valuable assets. grahamhgreen Mar 2014 #50

They aren't celebrated because they enjoy what they do. nyquil_man Mar 2014 #68

When all a person has is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. IrishAyes Mar 2014 #76

But someone has to be the first trillionaire. It's very important. valerief Mar 2014 #8

Really powerful hueymahl Mar 2014 #9

You're welcome. I was just reading about technological job loss, and this essay came up. reformist2 Mar 2014 #26

identity issue greymattermom Mar 2014 #11

Seems to fit the Goldman Sachs mold Trust Buster Mar 2014 #14

They are sociopaths. They do this without reguard for the human lives oppressed and destroyed. L0oniX Mar 2014 #15

Absolutely rickyhall Mar 2014 #39

Absolutely locked up. n/t PowerToThePeople Mar 2014 #86

The documentary "I Am" Brainstormy Mar 2014 #16

Thanks for the doc tip. n/t cui bono Mar 2014 #20

"Mine, mine, mine, all mine!!" reformist2 Mar 2014 #29

+1 jsr Mar 2014 #19

Who knew Pope Francis read Keynes!!!! Grins Mar 2014 #22

Excellent Post! Dirty Socialist Mar 2014 #31

I think it is just like any other hoarder Epiphany4z Mar 2014 #27

I love the discussion Shankapotomus Mar 2014 #34

Those like Keynes who wrote about the future from the era of the Great Depression merely looked jwirr Mar 2014 #35

I also believe it's a sickness that goes far back in our history mountain grammy Mar 2014 #40

When is enough enough? Iwillnevergiveup Mar 2014 #43

Someone in my family has the disease marions ghost Mar 2014 #46

All is vanity! reformist2 Mar 2014 #48

kr ... nt MindMover Mar 2014 #47

So, we think it will truly lead to revolution? cilla4progress Mar 2014 #53

The past 20-30 years has changed the American people's view of the very rich. reformist2 Mar 2014 #55

Oligarchs are still worshipped in flyover country where I retired. Stockholm Syndrome - IrishAyes Mar 2014 #80

Love it. blackspade Mar 2014 #60

If a woman has too many cats, she is a hoarder with a mental illness. Initech Mar 2014 #62

They can pay hundreds of people to call them "job creators," but they can't make people believe it. reformist2 Mar 2014 #63

What makes these uber rich so greedy? illachick Mar 2014 #64

This sentence is the best! WhiteTara Mar 2014 #66

Excellent post Trust Buster Mar 2014 #88

Hoarding takes a lot of different forms KrazyinKS Mar 2014 #67

Guess which economist I'll be quoting in my next letter to the editor of our regional weekly. IrishAyes Mar 2014 #69

Don't forget: Money = Power Martin Eden Mar 2014 #71

I think it is about control - TBF Mar 2014 #74

Thanks for Posting this Article! mckara Mar 2014 #82

Maybe this news story is the start of it: Live and Learn Mar 2014 #83

It's the 80 year cycle Trust Buster Mar 2014 #87