Do you know why it is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? It’s because the rich are lying sacks of scum. At least that’s what a joint study by psychologists at the University of California Berkeley and the University of Toronto has revealed. Although, not in those exact words. The study, which was cited on South African news portal iAfrica, confirms a lot of what we regular folk already know: the rich are a law unto themselves.

High income earners tend to lie, cheat and break the law, and aren’t above being mean to little kids. And they’re road hogs. Basically, they’ll do anything that will give them some kind of advantage or competitive edge.

Mercedes Benz and BMW drivers have become something of a joke. You know how it is; you tell someone you were cut off by a moron on the highway and they ask if the person was driving a BMW. Or a car drives right up your exhaust and you’re not surprised to see the Mercedes emblem loom large in your rear view mirror, until it eventually passes you on a solid line on a blind curve. Well, the study shows that Merc and BM (any expensive car, really) drivers definitely have more disregard for road rules and other road users than people who drive cheaper cars.

Rich people are also takers rather than givers. Another sort of kind of joke is that rich people are penny-pinchers and would first have to seriously consider the merits of the situation before giving a homeless guy 10 cents – and then ask for change. Once again, the study provides proof (albeit not exactly incontrovertible proof), that rich people aren’t only reluctant givers; they’re also very grabby takers.

You know that worn down cliché about taking candy from a baby? Well, rich people will do that. In a hypothetical situation, test subjects (from all income levels) were told that a jar of candy was for children who were in a nearby lab. However, the test subjects were allowed to take some candy if they wanted. Rich people took twice as much candy as other folks. Which kind of proves that no matter how much you’ve got, it really is never enough.

The study intended to look at the ways in which wealth and status affected behaviour patterns and self-perception. One supposes that it’s always nice to have evidence back up certain theories, but it’s still interesting to find out that scientists will spend time and money investigating what we already know:

Power might corrupt, but money corrupts absolutely.

Sandy writes on behalf of Now Learning, which promotes education in Australia, including business and management diplomas online.

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