Do you think money is necessary in life?

Short and sweet, and completely correct.

those were my first thoughts and i competely agree

I guess what I am getting at is this, A person may not value money that much but societally money runs the show. People die for it, wars are fought for it, and kingdoms make decisions based on it. I get that having an object that two parties can agree on value is convenient but so many institutions and ways of life pervert this simple convenience into something entirely different. Smedley Butler said, "War is a Racket."

How would you get food and shelter in America without money? If you mean your question to be purely philosophical, I would tell you that the emphasis on money is that it is what translates into getting your basic needs met. For example, a person becomes frantic about money when it looks like he/she cannot meet that month's mortgage payment because it means a loss of shelter.

well it is important to separate problems and attack them individually. America has lots of wasted space in lawns. I'm not saying everyone should become farmers but some perennial plants can make food year after year with little to no work. I think this could alleviate some amounts of poverty if green spaces had more fruits and vegetables and less pretty flowers. For the second problem of housing the current model is wholly unsustainable. People want homes that they can grow old in. According to the IRS the depreciation time for a residence is 27 and one half years. This unfortunately reflects the American building standard. In the D.C. area I saw townhouses where there was no firewall between residences. I don't know about you but I don't trust my neighbors to not burn down my house. It shows a blatant disregard for Risk Management and a market attitude that a consumer will go through several houses in their lifetime when most consumers could not afford one. I think that if housing was altered from a risk mitigation standpoint and from a durability standpoint that poverty would also go down. Thank you for your time.

I'm a bit confused about this conversation. Is it money onto itself, or is it money including a relationship (marriage) or is it money issue of a personal nature? To me, money is only a means to an end, solely to provide food, medical, roof over my head and anything beyond that is gratus. In my relationship, communication is 1st order then the money issues are dealt with equally and as a team effort. Sgt. Busse, you are correct unfortunately the world looks at money as defining a person (not you personally). It is sad that people cling to "things" more than people. "Things" don't last, relationships and people are life long.