Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

What do most people want before all else: money; at least what money will bring, which is everything. Some pseudo-intellectuals say money doesn't buy happiness, but it does, and it also provides a sense of superiority, especially for males who equate money with better sex. Money is also status: the things, the clubs, the awards; and other people are intimidated by money; they assume rich folks are better than them: smarter, better looking, more suave. However, if someone does get rich, they expect all those things to happen to them too; money is the ultimate equalizer.

It's odd that it doesn't make much difference how someone gets their money: hard work, luck, crime, inheritance; it still inspires admiration, probably because individuals believe that it could happen to them: win the lottery, gold coins buried in the backyard, Uncle Eric dies and leaves you the estate. Las Vegas exists because of this belief: the naive optimism, the burning desire, the hope which even overcomes the envy that shadows all other kinds of achievement and success. With all this going for it, no wonder it's so hard to tell the difference between money and god.