Is it true that Obama's grandparents were rich and that's how he got into Harvard? Was he raised poor or rich?
Obama's grandparents were middle-class. His grandmother worked at a bank for 26 years, his grandfather was a furniture salesman. They lived in an apartment in Hawaii, not in a mansion. Obama lived with his mother off and on for years, including a few years on food stamps. In Indonesia, they lived in a poor area for 2 years, then in an area that was better off. As in many foreign countries, domestic help was quite cheap so they had a few servants, but life was harder there. Obama moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents for a few years. When his mother returned to get her PhD, he lived with her and his half-sister. He attended a private school on scholarships, and college with scholarships and student loans. So no, he wasn't raised by wealthy people. Neither was he dirt poor with nothing. Like many families, his was mostly middle class with a few lean years.
Which is cheaper in the long run, paying prostitutes or marriage?
neither, having a partner but one who doesn't live with you is the best option prostitutes are dead inside, marriage leaves you dead inside
Why do most rich people wear simple clothes, and why do people who are not very rich tend to dress more exoticly?
I had a professor once who did a lot of research on this. All people attempt to impress their neighbors to some extant. There finances depend on what they can do and how they will do it. This is oversimplification, but his research basically showed the following.Poor people impress by what they wear— clothes, bling, etc. That is because they cannot afford to display in any other way.Middle class people impress by what they drive— A trendy car, or maybe a boat or a bunch of motorized “toys” like four wheelers. They can afford the “bling” but don’t want to look poor. However, they can’t afford to radically change their lifestyle to show off.Upper Middle Class and Wealthy people impress by either where they live or where they go— Some live in nice show houses in trendy neighborhoods. Some are the “millionaire next door” types that live in a regular house, but take a trip to Europe or the Amazon each year. Having an expensive car won’t impress any of their neighbors but they can’t afford to have a college named after them.Very wealthy people try to impress by what they do. The wealthiest like to have buildings named after them, like Carnegie Hall or the Geffen School of Medicine. Think about it. What could Bill Gates or Warren Buffet wear or dive that would make anyone more impressed. Help develop internet access for all the libraries in the US (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) or buy ABC Television and General Motors (Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway) and you have something.There are some theorists that say this effect actually works in the other direction. Poor people stay poor because they spend money on “bling” instead of saving for a decent vehicle. The trendy vehicles the middle class drive are usually too expensive, lose value and are bought with interest payments. This actually stops the middle class from becoming wealthy. The Upper Middle Class and Wealthy people end up spending too much in upkeep and property taxes on their homes. These people would say that the very wealthy became that way because they wae not concerned about how other people see their clothes, vehicle and home and concentrate on doing important things.Something interesting to think about.