> without realizing that it's simply saying that there are diminishing returns above that point
But I thought everyone got that point. It's not as if people thought every additional dollar brought them misery. People who quote this understand that you don't need this additional money, and that the effort/sacrifices to get it are not worth it.
>and that the effort/sacrifices to get it are not worth it.
Not quite. Marginal utility means the increase in benefit from an extra unit of some value, is some percentage less than 100% of the benefit gained from the previous unit.
Again, you're stating things people already know (maybe not in terms of marginal utility, but they do). You say you grew up poor, but the money you needed in order to be happy weren't millions or billions. It was a lot less. Beyond this, more money doesn't mean happiness, which is what people mean when they say it... but you already knew this, didn't you?
If the return in happiness/peace of mind you get beyond $75K (or whatever number) is close to nil, those all-nighters and cheap noodle lunches are simply not worth it by definition. Unless you enjoy living like that, of course, but the implication is that most startup founders don't, it's just stuff they do because they see the gold pot at the end.
I don't think that's true. I think a lot of people want to find a way to think that billionaires are worse off than someone making 75,000/year. They cite that study and incorrectly come to the conclusion that more money past 75,000 means increasing unhappiness under the "mo money mo problems" doctrine. People in this thread doing that in fact.
Your broader point though is uncontroversial that for the vast majority, working an extra hour per day for 100k more a year wouldn't be worth it.
I argue that's because the vast majority of people wouldn't know what to do with ungodly amounts of money, likely because they don't have ambitions that would require it, and thus see it as superfluous or as you state not worth the effort.
Most people, just want to play with their kids, take a vacation and zone out on netflix. That certainly doesn't take billions.
Sure, I take it that they don't need it. But they do not know if you, or me, or anyone else needs it, and whether the effort is worth it for others, and really shouldn't pretend that they do.
The point is precisely that nobody "needs" millions of dollars. That kind of money is well beyond the point of having the peace of mind you'll never go hungry or stop having a comfortable standard of living.
But I thought everyone got that point. It's not as if people thought every additional dollar brought them misery. People who quote this understand that you don't need this additional money, and that the effort/sacrifices to get it are not worth it.