Interesting thread. IMHO greed is the root of all evil rather than money. The reason is that greed causes people to lie, cheat, and steal.
I am fortunate that I have lived both sides of the money spectrum from well off to welfare. What those experiences taught me is that money or the lack of never changes the inside of a person. If a person is greedy they will still be greedy no matter how much money that have or don't have. If a person is mean money or the lack of won't change that. If a person is bitter or angry money isn't going to change it. Depression, mental illness, alcoholism, and most diseases money will not change. It is all an inside job. One can be just as happy with no money as one can be with several million in the bank. JMHO.