I read this article today about the Money-Empathy gap. Apparently, there was a study done at UC Berkley on this very subject. Does money make us less empathetic, have less compassion, act less ethically be less humane? Give the article a look.

Paul Piff, the scientist who conducted this experiment mentioned in the article published a paper called “Higher Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior” He found that living higher on the socioeconomic ladder can “dehumanize” people. He states that ” the rich are more likely to prioritize their own self interests Above the interests of others..”

He also poses the question “how does living in an environment defined by individual achievement- measures by money, privilege, and status- alter a persons mental machinery to the point where he begins to see people around him only as aides or obstacles to his own ambitions?”. An interesting question to say the least. What are your thought in that quote?

He states that Americans across the board can have a high tolerance for inequity if they believe it is meritocratic. ( a system of government or other administration (such as business administration) wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their “merits”, namely intelligence, credentials, and education). Do you think this is true? I think it is. Perhaps people may feel if you are uneducated or not so smart that you don’t deserve equal consideration.

The top 20% of Americans 86% of the countries wealth and the bottom
80% split the rest. So 80% of the people of the united states split 14% of the wealth. Staggering.

Another researcher in this article says that money can make you antisocial.

Seriously give this article a read.