The Love of $

It is popularly misquoted, "Money is the root of all evil."

What was really said in that all-time bestselling book is, "The love of money is the root of all evil." I have known those who, for richer or poorer, were relatively happy people. In plenty or in want, they got by just fine. Money was a tool and not an obsession, a necessary commodity but not an idol. I am grateful to have grown up with those values.

I have to credit my grandmother, Phoebe, as the best investor in our family. Born before 1920, she joined others of her vintage in getting married rather than finishing college. She had many channels for her intellectual energy: architecture, civics, world politics, art, and theater. She was most brilliant in choosing to move to Aspen, Colorado, in 1973 after by grandfather's death. Having visited Aspen on family vacations, she was ready to leave the rural outskirts of Chicago for the Wild West old silver-mining-town-turned-ski-resort.

As the story goes, she bought her 3 bedroom house with solar panels and a jacuzzi for $79,000. She went on to dream of, and even design models, of a family apartment above the driveway so that the rest of us could come and join her there. That was not to be. We were happy to enjoy the views from Independence Pass to Sopris Mountain during family gatherings, of course, a view that would ultimately be worth $2 million about ten years ago. By Aspen standards, the sum was a mere pittance, but I have to hand it to her for scoring a 25 time return on the property alone. After she moved out, a great big house was built in place of the original. She was able to give generously to her 6 children and how many was that? lots of grandchildren and still have enough to live out her days comfortably. Her legacy, as well, is that none of us in our family quibble over money, and we all still talk to one another.

If we ever did squabble, my grandmother sometimes called us "selfish shellfish"!

Other families struggle a lot more over money. I have witnessed heated arguments over bills that are due, how to manage debt, and how to control spending in times of want. Even so, the most unbelievably awful wars over money seem to occur in families of great means. It is as though the Prodigal Son story is played out over and over again. The righteous good son got so little for being good, and the runaway rogue was lavished upon by that unreasonably gracious and forgiving father. That dad would have been called out in the modern world for enabling. What could he do? His kid was starving and begging for help, and he had compassion.

But isn't there a time and place for tough love? Of course there is, in certain circumstances. We ought not encourage someone's bad habits or over-and-over again abuses. I've got to admit that I have had to learn some of the subtleties of tough love. I have seen families break apart, unable to speak to one another or even sit in the same room, all over flimsy paper with green printed sketches of long-gone old white men.

I heard a stark commentary on NPR this week which cited that about 1 % of Americans are millionaires; in contrast, 244 of 435 (46%) of our lawmakers in Congress are millionaires. As our country gears up to suffer through yet another economic crisis stand-off, I am sure that many are groaning just as much as I am. It is almost like the worst kind of family feud ever, one that occurs in public and thus only encourages exaggerated statements and last words, like two 17 year old sisters fighting in the car. Most of us middle class Americans are left to sit back and wonder whether or not these elected lawmakers. who will never-ever enact campaign finance reform so that a few more non-millionaires can be elected, will ever lay personal financial interests aside. Will our leaders ever be able to show tough love where needed, in situations of abuse, and yet still have compassion on those most vulnerable to starvation in the downturned economy?