Are the Rich Born Selfish and Greedy?

Or were they just raised to be that way by their parents?

(Editor's Note: This is a prologue to "Veterans Face a New Threat")

It is said that war is 99 percent boredom and 1 percent sheer terror --- but mostly for those in the bottom 99% (those who actually participate in wars), and not usually for those in the top 1% (those who are well-connected and get deferments --- although, there are many who patriotically volunteered to serve their country).

But when it comes to daily life, rarely are the ultra-rich ever bored, nor do they usually ever feel sheer terror, because they are isolated from poverty and entertained and protected by all their wealth. The poor, on the other hand, constantly worry --- sometimes living in sheer terror on a daily basis.

The uber-rich don't need a healthcare plan, they can buy their own hospital. Some have been installing full-fledged emergency rooms right inside their homes. They don't worry about paying monthly rent, they can pay cash for multiple beachfront mansions or buy their own private islands. They don't fret over hunger, they can eat lobster and caviar three times a day if they so choose, and drink the finest champagne. They sometimes invest in wine collections (known as a SWAG investments).

But if the bottom 99% doesn't have enough money for food, the top 1% will spend lots of money campaigning against food stamps (even though some rich people actually profit from food stamps). If the bottom 99% needs healthcare, the top 1% calls them "takers", and spends a lot more money trying to end (or gut) Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare®.

The super-wealthy don't struggle with life, they embrace it --- and they seek to extend it --- even though the rich already live longer than everybody else (the rich need more time to spend their money).

But yet, the top 1% still wages their class war on the poor. They spend millions of dollars getting politicians elected to do their bidding. And they spend money lobbying members of Congress for laws that only benefit themselves (like with the tax code and labor laws).

The ultra-rich use their power to rig the market in their favor and to exploit taxpayers through rent seeking --- profit made on government contracts that is not matched by commensurate value delivered to society --- making the rest of society (the 99%) worse off.

Our Supreme Court judges has attempted to force the 99% speak in whispers while complaining about losing their voice in a democracy. With Citizens United, the court made sure that the super-rich spoke through the biggest megaphones --- and that's why the 99% should support the Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2013.

And, if the "job creators" don't offshore our jobs overseas, after paying their expendable employees the least amount of money possible (while enriching themselves), the "makers" want to flush their hired help down the toilet like used tissue paper, leaving them with no income or healthcare at all when the "peons" eventually get too old or sick to be of any use to them any longer.

And if the richest of the rich can't completely eliminate Social Security and Medicare, they want the bottom 99% to work longer (and harder) before ever receiving a Social Security retirement benefit.

And these mega-rich bosses also want the bottom 99% to receive much less in a monthly retirement check when they finally can retire, with cuts to their Social Security benefits, known as chained-CPI. And this war on workers and the poor has also been another war on Vets.

Why are those in the top 1% like this? Through many academic studies, we have already learned that the rich are more unethical --- and they are also psychopathic and greedy. These studies show that money is indeed the root of most evil. (Also see my post: Murder and Betrayal of the Rich and Famous).

One study also showed that 10% on Wall Street are psychopaths --- so that might help explain why Mitt Romney may be mentally unstable. And here's further proof that many CEOs are evil psychopaths.

Are these heartless people simply born that way? Or do they learn this behavior in private schools? Or were they raised to be like this by their parents? Or does simply becoming ultra-rich make someone heartless?

Can you name those (on the short list below) who aren't worth at least $1 million and who have NOT advocated for policies that favors the rich over the middle-class and poor?

Bill O'Reilly, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Sean Hannity, Eric Cantor, Rick Santorum, Rupert Murdoch, Jim DeMint, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, John Boehner, Rand Paul, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Karl Rove, Steve Doocy, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Neil Cavuto, Glenn Beck, Sheldon Adelson, John Stossel, David and Charles Koch, Sarah Palin, Scott Walker, Kevin McCarthy, Pete Sessions, Chris Christie, Rick Scott, Joe Walsh, John Kasich, Rick Synder, Grover Norquist, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Cruz and Darrell Issa.

They all want to cut taxes for the rich, offshore jobs, weaken labor laws, depress wages, bust labor unions and cut safety nets for everybody else --- such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare®, unemployment benefits, food stamps, TANF, Meals on Wheels and Veterans benefits. As far as I'm concerned, most of them are immoral, unethical, evil and greedy sociopaths.