"And we can't let avarice get in the way."

Avarice - commonly not a mortal sin

Chairwoman Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Minneapolis, told members of the tax conference committee that time is running out. In an interview afterward, she said she is particularly frustrated that Mayo is trying to get around a requirement that the city issue all the bonds — something all parties agreed to previously. 

"We started with a concept that couldn't work and was never going to happen to we're almost there," she said. "And we can't let avarice get in the way. It's called compromise around here. It's not winner-take-all."

- Post-Bulletin, 05.16.2013 http://bit.ly/12eEA1n

"Avarice," there's a word you don't see used much anymore. Merriam-Webster Online defines the word in this way: "excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain."

The Catholic Encyclopedia elaborates thus:

Avarice (from Latin avarus, "greedy"; "to crave") is the inordinate love for riches. Its special malice, broadly speaking, lies in that it makes the getting and keeping of money, possessions, and the like, a purpose in itself to live for. It does not see that these things are valuable only as instruments for the conduct of a rational and harmonious life, due regard being paid of course to the special social condition in which one is placed. It is called a capital vice because it has as its object that for the gaining or holding of which many other sins are committed. It is more to be dreaded in that it often cloaks itself as a virtue,  or insinuates itself under the pretext of making a decent provision for the future. [emphasis added] In so far as avarice is an incentive to injustice in acquiring and retaining of wealth, it is frequently a grievous sin. In itself, however, and in so far as it implies simply an excessive desire of, or pleasure in, riches, it is commonly not a mortal sin.

Here's a thought experiment:

With several billion dollars on the table, is it possible for avarice to get in the way? Is avarice a retardant or an accelerant?  Obstacle or object?

Gut check.