Comment:

Money has diminishing returns.

This, of course, is obvious. If you have zero dollars and I give you a thousand dollars, that can mean getting off the street, finding a safe place to stay, food, clothing, opportunity to get back on your feet - that thousand dollars may very well save your life. If you're comfortably middle class and I give you a thousand dollars, you might purchase a slightly nicer second vehicle than you had planned on, or you might be able to afford that vacation this summer. If you're a billionaire and I put a thousand dollars in one of your accounts, I highly doubt you'd even notice.

As such, I have always felt that wealth redistribution is actually wealth creation. Those of you with a Biblical background may recall how Jesus considered the widow's mite to be genuine charity, while the rich Pharisees giving many times that amount were derided as less virtuous.

(Libertarians and I don't agree on much, but I do concede that taxation is theft... I just happen to believe that Robin Hood was the good guy.)

Much has been made of how lazy Hollywood screenwriters will have their protagonist be stressed out at work because they have to give a presentation to land the big Harris account (a type of stress that isn't actually common to most jobs) because this is, in fact, how Hollywood screenwriters experience job stress. Similarly, I think a lot of movies focus on how the protagonist should worry less about work and spend more time with their family because that's the moral lesson that folks in Hollywood income brackets need to learn. When you're actually lower class, quitting your stressful job to spend more time with your loving family is a bad idea - yes, even on a moral level - because then the aforementioned loving family will starve and die.

Anyway, all of this is to say that Lee is financially comfortable, but perhaps should not be comfortable enough to throw a thousand credits down the toilet.

Transcript:

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0145 - 2167/07/06/15:53 - Lee Caldavera's apartment, therapy couch.
Doc: It may help if we create a to-do list, an itinerary for the next few moments. Perhaps the first item on our list should be contacting Rosenthal college to ask for your money back. You can use Zoa for that contact, if you feel so -
LC: I don't care about the money, don't you see that?
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Doc: I've noticed.
Doc: And, while money doesn't buy happiness, the best things are free, et cetera, I do think it behooves you to value things that are... valuable.
LC: If I can't spend my money how I want to spend my money, is it really my money?
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Doc: Money is value, enumerated. The ways in which you can utilize that value are finite, yes, but you are still a consumer with purchasing power. The question of how much you actually own the things you own (vis-à-vis economic freedom, taxes, and so forth) may be open for debate, but I do know that if you don't value value itself...
LC: What, not caring about money makes me insane?
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Doc: I'm not going to lie, it's officially a red flag. The actual creds in this instance are immaterial, but given the multitudinous resources they could buy - things that could, conceivably, improve your life or the lives of others - not caring about money is tantamount to not caring about anything.
LC: And not giving a shit about anything is mental illness, is it?
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Doc: When "anything" includes your own well-being? Yes. Of course, all humans have bad days. But, like I said... red flag.
LC: Fine, I'll have Zoa contact Rosenthal.
Doc: That would be a good first item for our to-do list, yes.
LC: And what else goes on that list, O benevolent lord and master?
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Doc: Well, definitely never call me that again. Also, perhaps instruct Zoa to close your front door.
LC: What?
Zoa (off panel): Yeah, did you want Caleb 'n me to listen to this whole thing? Because we've totally both been listening to this whole thing.
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