A Greed Double Standard

Greed is the desire to have money or extended wealth (vehicles, multiple homes, and so on) out of selfishness.  It is not about having mere financial security or having the resources for hobbies, but about trying or pretending to sate a desire that might never be appeased, that of taking far more than one needs or would try to use.  Monetary greed could be linked to a desire for power, which is selfish if one seeks it on any basis other than wielding it according to reason and justice.  Wanting power or acclaim for the sake of emotional gratification is selfishness, and greed can be tied to seeking such things.  Someone could always descend into monetary greed without connection to any other kind of selfishness or avarice and simply be that shallow of a person.

Whoever allows greed to take hold in their minds can ensure that it does, whether poor or rich.  Greed is not something only people of a specific economic class are capable of, but one class is more easily able to get away with it due to wealth and influence: the extremely rich.  A poor person could certainly be dominated by greed, maybe even because they fear poverty so much that they become obsessed with obtaining wealth at all costs.  Being poor only means that, compared to whatever the cost of living is, one lacks resources or has to immediately devote them to staying afloat.  There is no logical contradiction in living in poverty and being motivated by sheer greed.  Yet, one could be poor, wish for more wealth, and not do so in an emotionalistic way.

Just wanting money is not the same as harboring greed.  Seeking wealth does not mean one makes assumptions, ignores necessary truths, or violates moral obligations in the process.  The poor also have a much greater need to have and use money than a wealthier person who has no debts (or could easily pay them), wealthy friends to bail them out in case anything sets them back, and easier access to morally legitimate or illegitimate means of securing more money or possessions.  Poor people can be greedy, but wanting money out of desperation to survive (which often requires monetary means) is not the same as wanting money just to have money one has no intention of using.  A rich person (and this would more apply to people at the upper levels of the wealthy) who hoards wealth out of the desire to have more of it, accomplishing nothing of consistent or ultimate moral significance with it, is greedy.

To someone who has more direct interaction with the poor, if they make assumptions, it might seem like it is the poor who are enslaved by greed whenever they simply show concern about money.  A poor person asking for a raise even due to merit or seniority might seem like they are "demanding too much" to a certain kind of irrationalistic observer when they are only trying to have enough for food, water, medicine, clothing, their rent/mortgage, and vehicle maintenance.  They might even have a disabled family member to support.  To the same observer, a rich person who receives millions more by paying employees little (and thus having more for himself/herself) might seem industrious and thus automatically "worthy" of whatever wealth they have.

Anyone who allows themself to fall to greed could do so, no matter their economic standing, but there is a greed double standard that treats the poor as vile for not even being greedy and only wanting enough to live comfortably.  There could be a double standard against the rich, of course.  The poor are still more accessible to the typical person because there is greater likelihood of interaction with them.  Indeed, almost everyone alive is seemingly far closer to the line of poverty even if financially secure than they are to having the wealth of the reportedly richest people on Earth.  The poor are not greedy if they just desire and pursue a more financially stable life with all of the stability this can bring in other, more foundational areas of life.