Week 2

            “The “good old times”, were not the good old times. Neither the master nor the servant was as well situated then as they are now”. I think that in examining wealth this is all that many Americans think about. The ideas of morals and connection to wealth are not thought of as much. Many people today do as they please when it comes to money, whether legal or not, and most often it seems that we all feel a strong connection to our money, only giving it up when it somehow benefits us. I think that is a difference between now and the “good old times” that Andrew Carnegie didn’t really discuss too much.. It may have just been that he technically grew up in what we would call the good old times now and that he didn’t witness the ideals of money that many people hold today, but it still seems interesting to me. I do understand his idea that what was available to only few, is now available to almost everyone, and I agree that that is a good thing, but I like that Carnegie also pointed out the negative, class side of the mass accumulation of wealth by such a small percentage of the population.

            Shifting to the for profit, non profit comparison, I found the idea of tangible and intangible outcomes interesting. I think that often this is the reason that many don’t see nonprofits as “real” businesses, because what they produce can’t be measured. I also found interesting the separation of influences. I think that after reading this, many would be turned off by large companies, that are out to serve a higher power agenda.

            Something else that surprised me is the idea of nonprofits actually having a bottom line. This is something most often associated with for profits. The connection between the mission of a nonprofit and their financial means to obtain that mission was very interesting.