What is money? One way of defining money would be a standard of currency, a way to make payment in exchange for some good or service. It is something we want more and more, a hidden and perhaps subconscious desire to attain and accumulate more of this pieces of paper engraved legal tender.
Money cannot buy you happiness, but money can get you lots of lovely things like chocolate chip ice cream (for me, differs for everyone), which is somewhat equivalent to happiness. The reason why we seek employment is so that we can earn our wages and in turn use it to get whatever it is that we want, or need. This is the conventional, legal and morally right way of obtaining money. What falls in the other side of the venn diagram involves criminal activity including but not limited to, robbery, fraud, smuggling and corrupted practices. The main reason behind what drives people to disregard the law and carry out the above mentioned actions may be to make a living.
They can be liken to a wild animal forced into a corner. In a comfortable environment, a lion will not attack or demonstrate violent tendencies. However, if you encroach onto it’s territory, force it into a cage, or attempt to inflict physical pain, the animal will fight back. Today’s society is similar to this scenario. To even have a chance at getting employment of some sorts, one must have at least a acceptable level of education and demonstrate decent moral integrity. However, being good at studies or excelling at a certain sports does not make one a better worker. Likewise, an ex convict does not deserve to have a permanent label stuck on them, hindering their employment opportunities. Heck, this dude may have been sent to prison for attacking the assailant who tried to rob his friends.
What is not acceptable however, is that in the process of obtaining money, one performs morally and ethically wrong judgments. Take for example an accountant. An accountant’s job is to keep the firm’s accounts in records. In the event that a superior instructs the accountant to falsify data in exchange for a small sum of “bonus” or even nothing, it is a illegal move. Compared to murdering another for money, both are chargeable in a court of law, but one outweighs the other in the scale of moral failure.
In recent news, it is reported that by 2016, the richest 1% will control half of the world’s wealth. In a world where such inequality exists, it is hard to blame those that commit crimes out of desperation. One does not need billions of dollars to get on with life. One does not need to have a hundred different sports cars, private jets or multiple yachts. What one needs is merely food to provide for their family, pay off mortgages and bills. Everything else is secondary. It is kind of terrifying to imagine how one can spend thousands of dollars on one meal or a bottle of wine when some people do not even earn a dollar in a days work.
If you believe in maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one’s needs can be classified into a pyramid, with the most important at the base, and upon satisfying that need, does the next come into play. At the bottom, I would say he’s correct, as one’s most basic needs is food, shelter and clothing.
I do not have the luxury of a well paying job. Sure, the amount I get a month is sufficient to pay for food, but there’s barely anything left after that. And I do have a wishlist of stuff I want, which is a little difficult to achieve with such meager salary. Looking back a couple of years, back when I was a student, I would scrimp on meals, not buying the more expensive but more “desirable” food, instead just enough to not feel hungry and faint. I did not buy drinks for an entire year, just so that I could save that one dollar every day, which at that time, seemed like quite a lot of money.
Even then, I was satisfied. I did not mind having to live like this, because I understood the reasons behind my actions, which is to save up and get myself that something which has been laying dormant on my wishlist for the longest time. And when I finally saved enough cash, I went to a music shop and bought a decent guitar which cost me most of my savings for that year. What’s funny is that my first pitiful paycheck was more than what I managed to save for an entire year. Which kind of leaves me thinking, was it necessary to save that little bit of money instead of getting that cooling drink on a hot day or a little chocolate just to spice up a boring day? I would say I do not regret my decision, for it was necessary at that time. That wishlist was what kept me going, a form of motivation and encouragement. The mentality was simple. Study hard, and enjoy the little reward at the end of the journey.
Imagine if gold was one of the most abundant element on earth and silicon was rare. Electronics may be all made of gold. Scarcity drives up prices, and at the same time also the value people place on it. There exist a misconception that an expensive product is definitely better than a cheaper product. Take for example, the classic iPhone vs insert-android-phone-here comparisons which is everywhere. For the sake of an argument, let’s go with Xiaomi Mi4. Both are flagships by their respective companies, but price wise it’s another story. Apple products are sold for a premium, which works partially because consumers tend to associate Apple with superb quality and excellent customer support. On the other hand, Xiaomi aims to offer the same experience at cut throat prices, which sometimes could be as little as half the price of a phone with similar hardware. To compare these two would be like comparing apples to oranges, but the average consumer would choose to buy the iPhone at double the price simply because it’s a iPhone. So perhaps if carbon was super rare, maybe engagement rings would be made of carbon just like how diamond rings are being used to extort money from people who are probably going to be three months poorer.
What you see above, the Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 Contemporary, a third party lens I have eyed for over a year and a half. The Sigma can be considered an upgrade over the Nikon standard 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera when I bought it. The Nikon 18-55 was no slouch, and having spent 2 years with it, I can say it is a pretty decent lens. However, the focus motor was malfunctioning at times, and the front lens element has a scratch on it. Besides, the 18-55 was a pretty limited focal range, 17-70 serves wide angle for landscapes, street and portraiture too. The Sigma focuses fast and silently too. Which would have helped a lot if I wanted to snap a photo of the two monkeys mating yesterday which left me slightly scarred for life.
This single purchase was worth more than I saved for the entire year of 2013 and roughly equivalent to 2.5 years worth of drinks. Photography is an expensive hobby. People ask me why I spent ridiculous amounts of money on lenses, as compared to my salary. Well, we all have our interests and we place different value on things depending on how much they matter to us. Which brings me on to the topic of value. It is strange how a simple $50 can have different value to people or even the same person when it comes to different uses. The $50 holds its monetary value of $50 if you disregard inflation, but to a rich man, the $50 is merely spare change whereas to the poor dude, it probably is a whole week’s pay. Some billionaire can spend millions on a journey to the ISS, but in some other part of the world, another can only dream of even getting to a million dollars in his lifetime. Looking at this from another point of view, $50 can get you a sumptuous buffet for two plus desserts, or it can be donated towards disaster aid or perhaps two months worth of rice for a needy man. It’s the same $50, but the joy of giving far exceeds that of a delicious mouth watering ice cream buffet.
Think about that.
And Happy Valentines Day.