Is the word greedy a dirty word?
 

IS THE WORD GREEDY A DIRTY WORD?

Greedy is perhaps one of the most used words on Talk of The Villages. Many seem to use this word as a slam against others and use it as if they have never been greedy themselves.

I had been a salesman all of my working life and I was and still am a greedy person and very proud of it. I have hired and trained many-many salespeople and would not want to hire a salesperson that is not greedy. If I were to sell my home or car or anything else I own I would want to sell it for as much as I could. Many would call that greedy and I thank you for the compliment.

I believe that the majority of the people that live in The Villages worked for profitable greedy companies that paid us well or we would not be living here. Even retired government employees worked for a greedy government that history shows has always wanted to raise taxes.

We even want our favorite sports teams to defeat their opponents by as much as possible and if they are playing their biggest rival the point spread can never be enough. Seems like greed to me. I love it when my favorite teams will.

I googled the meaning of greedy and this is what I found. onhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/greedy.

The number 2 meaning I found interesting. The next time you go out to eat in The Villages and they give you one of those pagers as you are waiting to eat and drink just think of number 2 meaning you are greedy.

[gree-dee]
Spell Syllables
• Synonyms
• Examples
• Word Origin
adjective, greedier, greediest.
1.
excessively or inordinately desirous of wealth, profit, etc.; avaricious:
the greedy owners of the company.
2.
having a strong or great desire for food or drink.
3.
keenly desirous; eager (often followed by of or for):
greedy for praise.

I think number 1 is what we're usually thinking when we use the word. This was interesting. I complained about people using the word rude too often but when I looked it up I saw that I was wrong. Rude was being used correctly. But do you think I'll admit that?

in biblical terms, greed is a sin.

Greedy is one of those qualities that is hard to describe but we know it when we see it.

I recruited, interviewed, tested, trained and promoted many sales types. A key ingredient for a successful sales person is that they are highly motivated by money. It is not this motivation that makes a sales person greedy rather it is the manner unethical vis a vis ethical manner they go about making that sale.

In my view this same concept applies across our capitalistic society. Apart of it is that an individual or company departs from providing quality products or service to their customers and are over taken and focused on profit alone

Succinctly states I believe greed and questionable/unethical business practices go hand and hand. Interestingly enough it seems those companies run well and offering a quality product, service etc seem to thrive Chick fil comes to mind

Greed usually implies "excessive" when it comes to money. A company that is not "greedy" would be Ben and Jerry's. The starting salary is twice the minimum wage; they support environmental efforts. They support Fair Trade - Fair Trade certification guarantees that the farmers who grow the vanilla, cocoa and coffee beans get a fair price for their harvest, enabling them to reinvest in their land and communities. This costs B&J's more money in the long run, but ethically its the right thing to do. A greedy company will take an opposite approach - Walmart comes to mind - with billions of dollars a year in profits, a reliance on part-time workers who are structured out of decent wages and access to health care benefits.

I used to abstract regional business magazines and newspapers when I worked for Information Access Company in Belmont, CA. There are many ethical companies like Ben and Jerry's that earn quite a profit.

Another note-- Personal enrichment was kind of ingrained into us while I was in law school. Professors would often talk about how much money we would make once we got through the ordeal of law school. I know some law students from back then we do good work in some area or another who are probably not very well paid but are content with what they are doing. There are others who do good work for people but are extremely well paid for doing it.

Greedy has by definition a negative connotation. My complaint is with those who equate a responsible, dedicated effort to make a profit with being greedy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Making a profit is not greed. Making excessive profits at the expense of less fortunate people is. Greed is laying off employees for the sole purpose of increasing profits. Greed is forcing employees to work extra hours for the same pay to make up for those laid off employees. Greed is cutting back on the employee benefits that created the great American middle class. Greed is killing us all. In the end, the greedy will have no consumers and they, too shall lose everything.

If you want to see greed, look at the federal government as well as the corporate world.

The feds can't ever get enough. Taxpayers do not willingly pay the money to the feds as they do at Walmart. The feds confiscate it, and then leave our kids and grandkids with an $18 trillion national debt.

That, to me, is greed.

The government does not tax to enrich itself. It taxes to provide for the people of the nation. True, much of this money is ill-spent, but that doesn't qualify as greed. If the greedy paid their fair share of taxes as they did in the 1950's, we may once again have a middle class and a much stronger economy.

It's ill-gotten, and ill-spent, and then they keep wanting more--removing the debt ceiling every year.

That is greed AND squandering it, and having no qualms about squeezing more out of working people.

If they put the money directly to the people in need first, instead playing games with it to get re-elected first and foremost, it would be alright. As it is, it's just a drunken binge applied to greed for power, for which we pay.

Why is it people who want to keep their hard earned money are referred to as greedy, but the people trying to take our money are not greedy? Please explain, as it makes no sense to me.

:ho:

I agree! Big business pays the lion's share of taxes in this country. Government produces nothing that contributes to the economy. The rest of the tab is forcibly extracted from working-class taxpayers. When a business, large or small, makes a profit, despite having to pay to support the entitlement class and an irresponsibly bloated government bureaucracy, it's nothing short of a miracle. Without it, there is no incentive to produce. Labeling a business - or person - who actually does produce wealth as "greedy" is tactic, used by Marxist governments and social manipulators, to create class envy. It's how they get votes and maintain control.

When a government bleeds the citizens it is elected to serve, while taking multimillion dollar junkets, using taxpayer-funded Military vehicles and personnel as private chauffeurs, legislating itself elaborate retirement and health care benefits or golden parachutes for minimal service, THAT is greed!

If government weren't so insatiably greedy, business like Walmart, and many others, large and small, wouldn't be forced to cut employee benefits. Anyone who has ever been in business for himself understands this only too well.

Amen! Very well said! :clap2:

I agree. You nailed it.