March 1, 2012 by David K. Sutton
If Only You Had Money, You’d Know How Hard It Is To Be Wealthy
I had to rub my eyes, check the calendar and take a brisk walk to clear my head after reading Wall Street Bonus Withdrawal Means Trading Aspen For Coupons by Max Abelson, Bloomberg. I thought for sure this had to be the work of The Onion. Nope, it seems to be the real deal. Apparently the people profiled in this article are dead serious, and so it confirms what we already know, the one percent is completely disconnected from the reality of the average American worker.
While the economy is improving, there are still millions out of work and many who have found work are making less than they used to. But these wealthy individuals would like us to know that it’s hard being rich. It’s difficult making ends meet when your kids are in elite private schools at the same time you would like to pay the maid service at your rental property and build that 5,000 square foot addition to your primary residence. You know, the rich have to make sacrifices too.
Some of the quotes are absolute gems, like Andrew Schiff saying, “I feel stuck…The New York that I wanted to have is still just beyond my reach.” I know just how you feel bud, $350,000 a year doesn’t go as far as it used to.
I think the following quote by Alan Dlugash sums up the attitude of many in the one percent. “People who don’t have money don’t understand the stress…Could you imagine what it’s like to say I got three kids in private school, I have to think about pulling them out? How do you do that?”
It was about at this point, which is only a few paragraphs into the article, that I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I had to confirm April Fools’ Day was still a month away. I scanned the article up, down and sideways looking for any sign that it was a spoof. Nothing. OK, I gotta read more.
There’s the story of the Wall Street head hunter who is now forced to buy discounted salmon. Then we read about the “crushing setback” of finding out your life with a $10 million net worth might not be as grand as you once thought. Hey, we all have to reevaluate our priorities when in financial hardship, right?
If you stick around long enough you get to read about the analogy of suffering when you have the flu (i.e. living on a $250,000 salary) compared to suffering from a terminal disease (i.e. the poor and middle class).
Don’t forget that almost all of these people are in the top tax bracket, which means (according to Republicans) that they are the job creators. So you better cut them some slack if you are still seeking gainful employment.
dks
