Can Money Buy Happiness?

They say 'money does not buy happiness.' To that I say BULLWINKIE! Let us examine who 'They' could be.

First we have the born rich. Yes, they are the ones that are born into money. Their parents had it and passed it on to the next generation, perhaps many generations of old money. Of course they can say it cannot buy happiness, they know no other life. But, tell them to give it up, that having no money will make them happier and they will no doubt refuse. When the Great Depression hit, many of these rich people committed suicide, unable to stand the thought of being poor, broke, destitute. The rich have their troubles, yes, and to them the troubles are important. Yet, they have never had to feel the bite of hunger. They will not suffer when they cannot pay the electric bills to heat their homes in winter. It is not as if money can solve everyone's troubles, but it is guaranteed that a person without worries as to where their next meal is coming from is much happier than someone that has an empty refrigerator and starving youngsters, freezing because the power company pulled the plug due to lack of funds. The born rich cannot claim to know what they themselves have never experienced.

Then we have the newly rich. Those that have worked hard and earned their way out of the lower classes or have won some type of lottery. The ones that worked hard know they could lose it and return to their poverty status at any time. They have felt the bite, the sting and the possibility of poverty. They know and appreciate the money they get. When they make a purchase in a store, they appreciate and enjoy their item, smile when they take it home. They are happy. The lottery winners, ahhh, have you seen their faces when they learn they have won? Joy, happiness, wonder. For just that one instant in some people's lives, money DID buy happiness. I never once saw a lottery winner with a look on their face as if to say; why me, I don't want this. All I have ever seen written on those winners' faces is pure, unadulterated happiness.

Next, of course, we have the middle class. One of the major causes of divorce (other than infidelity) is money. Who spent it? How much is left? Why did you buy that purse when we needed milk? Where did that case of beer come from? They work hard, try to earn enough to pay the bills and are broke by the next paycheque. Just a little more money and their marriages may have survived. Love is great, yes, but love is stretched thin when they fear their finances, causing sleepless nights. Sleepless nights cause stress and crankiness. Would they be happier with an unlimited amount of money, entitling them to a worry free life, a bit more so they do not have to worry if their children will be fed or the house will not be taken from them for lack of payment? No doubt!

Last, but surely not least, are the poor. They sit in their cold residences, not enough money to pay the heating. They sit with their bellies empty, listening to their children cry because they have nothing to eat. They may say that they are happy, that having money would not make them happier. To many that would be a way to save face. They accept their lot in life because complaining only brings pity, not help. Inside, many know that having money would make their lives easier, their children's lives easier...happier. The children do not cry tears of joy when they starve. If you told a starving man who cannot afford to feed his starving children that money cannot buy happiness, he would probably spit in your face. To see his children well fed, to have enough money to buy food for the dying sons and daughters, would be happiness to that man. There are no doubts in my mind about that.

So, I say to you, the next person that says that money cannot buy happiness, just answer BULLWINKIE! As a writer, I have known rich and poor. The sales of my books do not make me unhappy. First I am happy because people like my work but secondly, and not less important, I am happy that my bills may get paid and my pets will be fed. Would I or could I be happy without money in my pockets? No. Money makes this world go round. The economy is based on the mighty dollar. To say that I do not need money, that I would be perfectly happy without money, that I could survive without money, would be a plain outright lie. This society is run on money, not seashells.

Money can buy happiness....It can buy dog food, cat food, turtle food, bird food, fish food and chocolate! Especially chocolate. Therefore, to all you nay-sayers out there who disagree with me on this subject, all I can say to you is BULLWINKIE! Prove me wrong, then, give away all your money, live on the street, have an empty belly, watch your children die from malnutrition, and then come and tell me you are happier without money. Money Buys Happiness!