Blog Post: Rich People, Bad; Poor People, Good?

CNN reported that a study has been made of people with money versus people with less money and they found out that the people with more money tend to be less ethical and are more comfortable with bending the rules. One of the field tests they conducted was to see which kind of cars most often gave right away to pedestrians. They found that people in the newer and luxury cars stopped less or drove more carelessly around pedestrians than people with "average' cars.

It's difficult to determine whether this study is conclusive in any way. The problem I have with all "studies" is that they only measure how a cross-section of people act or react to a situation. They often draw conclusions from a group of 400 people or less and that hardly indicates that everyone would exhibit the same behavior.

The premise of their findings, however, IS interesting. In a "common sense" paradigm, the conclusions do seem logical. People who have a great deal of money tend to hold significant "positions" or titles in their jobs and with that status often comes a feeling of entitlement. Therefore; they can, in some cases, start to feel more valued than the "average" person.

There are people with considerably more economic resources than some of us who do feel that they enjoy more importance in society than the average person. To an extent, this is true. Society enables people with money and position and raises them to levels that are not always productive or logical. People are turning to these influential people and seeking their approval, their favor and their money. It's no wonder that soon these privileged people feel "special" and may decide to bend the rules. Rules, after all, only apply to the "others." I assume it's thinking like this that got Bernie Madoff and others like him in trouble.

If this current study of ethics shows that people with less money, fame and power are more humane and empathetic than their counterparts, then I'm glad that I'm surrounded by "average" people. However; in reality, it's not just a matter of economics that determine how people act. It's all about character and learned behavior. That is formed and taught in the home. If parents don't step up and provide a good role model and examples for their children then the results will speak for themselves.

A study that sets out to prove rich people are not honest and poor people are more humane is really just a reason to ignite a dialogue. It's not conclusive or credible in it's scope or conclusions. There are decent and good people who have money and there are people who don't have money who can be stinkers.

It's a little premature and short-sighted to draw conclusions from a small focus group when the world and the population is so much more diverse and indefinable. But it does make one start to consider one's values when we look at and evaluate ourselves, whether it's motivated by a study or our own self-examination.