Rob's Letter to the Editor

Rob has had a number of LtoE's published in national newspapers, but in my opinion this one, published in Dec 16's WSJ, is his best to date:

To the Editor:

Arthur C. Brooks notes that empirical data shows a correlation between
the level of a person's income, and his level of expressed subjective
happiness ("Money Buys Happiness", 12/8/05). Contrary to the cliche,
Professor Brooks concludes that money *can* buy happiness.

In fact, the causality runs the other way. It's not that "money buys
happiness", but rather that "happiness buys money". More precisely, the
very virtues and habits that lead to happiness--goal-focus, rational
discipline, creative thought, optimism--are the same ones that lead to
success in any endeavour, including in the financial realm.

To quote Ayn Rand's famous "money speech" from her novel Atlas Shrugged:
"Money is the product of virtue, but it will not give you
virtue...[M]oney is the creation of the best power within you."


Sincerely,

Robert Tarr