For years, Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge has gotten a bad rap. But a semi-comedic article at Slate explains why misers are good for us.

In this whole world, there is nobody more generous than the miser?the man who could deplete the world's resources but chooses not to. The only difference between miserliness and philanthropy is that the philanthropist serves a favored few while the miser spreads his largess far and wide.

If you build a house and refuse to buy a house, the rest of the world is one house richer. If you earn a dollar and refuse to spend a dollar, the rest of the world is one dollar richer?because you produced a dollar's worth of goods and didn't consume them.

Let's never mind about Scrooge's refusal to, say, let his employees go home for Christmas dinner. After all, spending time with your family is not really about money -- and money is all that matters anyway.

This gives us some fantastic insight into why misers economists sometimes like each other. It takes one to appreciate one.

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