The advantages of being poor.

"A growing body of research says the rich tend to display distinct behaviour that can be mostly characterised as mean," wrote Dr U Shashikant. ""In a world where income inequalities are only rising, and where amassing money is an avowed objective pursued without a tinge of regret, it might make sense to pause and ask if we are turning out to be rich and somewhat soulless." Does it mean that the poor will refuse to be rich if given the choice? Studies show that poor people spend a larger share of their income on buying lottery tickets because they feel it gives them equal opportunity to become instantly rich, even if that is close to zero. In India, Kerala has the largest number of people buying lottery tickets. Kerala is also the state with the highest literacy ratio at 94%. Has anyone ever given away his lottery prize? A lot of people are unable to deal with their sudden wealth and end up as poor as before by going on a spending spree. Everyone loves money. "There is this old sociological nugget that goes as follows: in the everyday presentation of self, the higher one rises socially, the fewer friends one has," wrote Prof D Gupta. He gives examples of how poor people risked their lives in saving others. That does not mean that all rich are cowards. It might mean that people tend to live in neighborhoods with their economic equals, which means that rich and poor live far apart. The rich are lonely because many see them as a source of easy money. Hence the old saying, "Lend your money and lose your friend." The danger of eulogizing the poor was illustrated in another article by Prof Gupta, in which he wrote that thousands of upper caste people with graduate and higher degrees applied for posts of 'safai karmachari', or 'sweepers', in UP. He presented it as equality enforced by job opportunities. But it is just the opposite. If people with PhD and masters degrees are having to work as sweepers it means a lack of suitable job opportunities for the qualified, loss of respect for education and enormous economic loss for the nation as we waste knowledge and talent. "The lack of empathy and compassion in the rich as compared to the poor is also well documented." The US leads in education and research because of generous endowments by the rich. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, two of the world's richest men, are determined to give away major parts of their wealth to society. Recently 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped in a cave in Thailand for 9 days. They were rescued so smoothly because they were poor, wrote Prof D Gupta. Had they been rich their parents would have exerted enormous pressure on authorities and each parent would have demanded that their child be rescued first. That certainly applies to India and especially to our politicians, who are the representatives of the poor. So, should we all try to be poor?