Values are more important than valuables

Believe me my reputation and personal identity as an ethical person are more valuable to me than my money I made. Generally speaking, one can always earn more money. If I cease to be a person who acts ethically, I may resume acting ethically in the future, but my external reputation and internal identity as one who values ethical conduct highly will take a long time to repair, if those repairs ever occur. I am told that I have inhumanly high standards for myself, so it’s likely that I would never make peace with that period of ethical failures.

As others have pointed out, one cannot eat ethics. One who strives to be an ethical person, however, is, I believe, more likely to be helped by her community in a time of need than someone for whom ethics is a lesser consideration. People have and use morals keep obeying Laws and not attacking others! These are usually only Believers of God! Have lives with real Love! Ones that get lots of money that end up only caring for themselves and not others. Often attacking others with greedy ideas! Not realizing it until they are also attacked, what is going on. Yet how many stop?

Think about that. On a deserted island, your money has no value. Money is backed by a functional economy in a functional and safe society with trustworthy trading partners where your transactions are safe, secure and reliable. Now, Money is not a value, it is an enabler. You purchase the productive ability of others, and so depend on them having a productive ability. But perhaps that productive individual could be you, precluding the need for money in that skill.

As per your questions intelligently, education is another enabler. So education has much of the properties that money. Someone with education can obtain opportunities and be productive in ways that someone with just money cannot. We can go through the list of what money can buy and figure out alternative ways of acquiring them, which will give us alternative avenues to obtain the benefits provided by money. First, we do not buy goods and services, we buy benefits. I do not buy a gun and CCTV cameras, rather I'm buying security. Alternatively, an American moving to Switzerland obtains this security without the financial impact.

When we seek money, what we typically seek are: safety, stability, security, visibility of maintenance of food, home, bills, necessities for ones family (relationships), leisure time and activities, fulfilling or otherwise engaging work perhaps, Being a millionaire does not guarantee that one has the skills necessary to employ this capital in obtaining desirable results for one's family. Cases abound where the money is spent on stuffed tigers and alcohol while family and friends are neglected. In reality, we always fulfill our needs through a mix of money and personal inputs, and so both are important. Money and personal effort. without either, you will experience a deficit.

Morals are important, but unfortunately most people don't have morals. Most people act in their own self interest. What is important is to have a lot of friends. Mutually beneficial relationships will result in, people helping each other. What is also important is to not make enemies: especially avoid offending powerful people. Do you really need billions of dollars? You just won’t spend them all, unless you’re super greedy.

Donating to charity goes into morals. Being a billionaire, money just sits around in your bank account. Believe it or not, there are people who have maybe a few dollars in their bank account. You probably haven’t seen them, but they exist. Look up a picture of a malnourished child living in poverty. They are mere bones and skin. Personally, I would be embarrassed to be rich, when people have nothing at all to see such poverty around me.

Having good morals and being a good all around person can get to anyone. People do remember little quotes and inspirational speeches they heard from a motivational speaker, who probably doesn’t earn that much, but continues to spread kindness. The one who may overwork days but continues to do good for the world. Take Mahatma Gandhi, for example. He was just a regular guy, just like you and me, but he wanted a change, and he wanted to be that change. Look how many people he inspired.

He inspired people just like Martin Luther King Jr, and now the US is a non segregated place. All while the rich are just sitting in their mansions wearing the fanciest of clothes eating the fanciest of sitting on the most expensive leather couch. People, even little kids like you and I once were, are dying because of malnutrition while some are throwing away slightly brown apples. Which one would you rather be? The one who lives in luxury and doesn’t care about people dying of hunger? Or the one who makes the change, and gives people hope? Cheers!