Greed has had more of a negative influence on American society than a positive influence.

Also I would like to say the topic refers to America's greed has had a negative effect on societies, not just on America, but only pertaining to American greed. 1) "America is successful because of their own selfish desire" This is a common misconception. America's selfish desire is only a fraction of why America progresses rapidly. America progresses because of intelligence, freedom, and other factors. Without these, very few discoveries could succeed. Greed is merely what drives Americans to use these tools. This isn't necessary. For example lets take a look at China. Why is China so successful? Hard work, discipline, and cheap labor drives their success. Three simple but very potent things. Greed isn't required to be successful. Americans are just very ignorant and focus on money only, rather than making discoveries and finding ways of alternative energy to benefit our children and their children's children. Greed has drove a small percentage of Americans to be rich and technological advancements to be made, but greed shouldn't have driven America. A metaphor for this can be a woman who tans a lot. She went to tanning salons and spent hours in the sun. She had a nice tan, and many guys came after her. She ended up getting the guy she wanted, but her life ended early because of skin cancer. Short term rewards are blinding americans from long term dangers. 2) Wealth It is obvious that wealth is not evenly distributed throughout America. The top 1 percent control 42 percent of financial wealth in the U. S. . Now, yes America is the richest country. 42% is controlled by 1 percent, is this not morally wrong? Was this country not found for everyone to prosper and have equal opportunity for everyone? Why do the richer get richer and the poorer get poorer? Greed is the answer. Greed has taken rights from people. America's greed has not just hurt America, but it is hurting the world. Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy. If every person consumed as much energy as the average American, it would take four worlds to supply enough resources. One American consumes the same amount as 370 Ethiopians and 13 Chinese. Again, China has more distribution of wealth, uses less energy, and has more people. It is apparent that greed has driven Americans to harshly damage the world. Greed has also led to our bad economy today. 3)Power Greed for power has caused many countries to turn against the U. S. . Some countries include Chile, Iraq, Nicaragua, Iran, and Afghanistan. We used them for resources like oil and increased chances of terrorism/war. The greed for this power to win the war in Iraq. US military spending reached US $417.4 billion in 2003 — 47% of total world military spending. $417.4 billion dollars so we can kill millions of innocent people over oil. Greed for power has not only decreased America's safety but also has hurt many surrounding countries. 4) Food Greed is also why America is the most obese country in the world. According to NY Times, 34 percent of Americans are obese. 17 percent of children are obese. 68 percent of adults are considered overweight. So with these statistics in mind, is it good that greed is leading to extreme obesity? Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people. The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on 25 gallons. America's greed is wasting food for the world and is causing America to become obese. Summary: Greed isn't only reason why America is the richest country. America doesn't have to depend on greed to be a rich country because greed is unnecessary and has many downsides. A very small percentage of America is actually "rich". The rich get richer because of greed. Is it worth it to be rich if only a small portion can be and the wealth isn't distributed? If so what is the point of the advancements we have made because of "greed". Greed has cause many countries to turn against us and hurt other countries. Lastly greed is causing a depletion of food resources and many Americans to become obese. If all these can be avoided with hard work and discipline, is greed really a good driving factor? Vote Pro Sources . http://www.mybudget360.com...- . http://www.mindfully.org... . http://www.greenleft.org.au... . http://www.nytimes.com...